CA1065828A - Permanently buoyant balloon - Google Patents
Permanently buoyant balloonInfo
- Publication number
- CA1065828A CA1065828A CA293,350A CA293350A CA1065828A CA 1065828 A CA1065828 A CA 1065828A CA 293350 A CA293350 A CA 293350A CA 1065828 A CA1065828 A CA 1065828A
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- balloon
- envelope
- buoyant balloon
- air
- panels
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired
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Abstract
PERMANENTLY BUOYANT BALLOON
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A substantially permanently buoyant balloon suitable for use as a toy or in advertising, for example, is provided which includes an envelope containing a lighter than air gas such as helium, which envelope is made from attached panels of a nonelastomeric polymer sheet material carrying a continuous metal layer on at least one side thereof. The metal layer can either be a thin metal film contiguously bonded to the polymer, or can be metal which is vapor deposited over the surface of the polymer.
The balloon itself is constructed so that the ratio of its volume taken to the two-thirds power divided by its surface are is in the range of from about 0.21 to about 0.01, and the weight of the envelope can range from about 2.6 x 10-4 gm/cm2 to about 1.7 x 10-2 gm/cm2. The envelope is preferably manufactured in two dimensional "lay-flat" form in any desired two dimensional shape unlike conventional balloon envelopes which are inherently three dimensional surfaces. Balloon envelopes having the above described volume to surface area ratio and made with the above described composite panel material will be maintained buoyant for an indefinite period of time when filled with the lighter than nir gas.
ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A substantially permanently buoyant balloon suitable for use as a toy or in advertising, for example, is provided which includes an envelope containing a lighter than air gas such as helium, which envelope is made from attached panels of a nonelastomeric polymer sheet material carrying a continuous metal layer on at least one side thereof. The metal layer can either be a thin metal film contiguously bonded to the polymer, or can be metal which is vapor deposited over the surface of the polymer.
The balloon itself is constructed so that the ratio of its volume taken to the two-thirds power divided by its surface are is in the range of from about 0.21 to about 0.01, and the weight of the envelope can range from about 2.6 x 10-4 gm/cm2 to about 1.7 x 10-2 gm/cm2. The envelope is preferably manufactured in two dimensional "lay-flat" form in any desired two dimensional shape unlike conventional balloon envelopes which are inherently three dimensional surfaces. Balloon envelopes having the above described volume to surface area ratio and made with the above described composite panel material will be maintained buoyant for an indefinite period of time when filled with the lighter than nir gas.
Description
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,~1']1iS .illVC'llt;.OlI rclatcs to lig]ltcl than air ~alloons. I
In allotller asl)ect, this invcntion rclatcs to a novel substan- -tially l~ermanent l)uoyant b.~lloon for usc as ~ toy or in adver-. . . .
~ tising l.hich ~ill remain buoyallt Eor an indcfinite period of ! time in exccss of about one year with a potential ma~i~um liEe-, ti~e exceed:ing several years, e.g., at least thirty years.
!~ Conventionally small toy or advertising balloons are made by illing an elastomeric m~ter;al t~ith a helium containing I gas. Such lighter than air balloons have been commonly used and ¦i sold for many years at ~airs, circuses, restaurants and shoppin~
¦¦ centers and the li~e, l~here helium is available to ill the j! balloons shortly before use or sale. Tllus, it is commo~ly ~no~
¦, that such balloons invariably lose their buoyancy w:ithin a I matter o:E a :Ee~ ours or fe~ days at most, as the result o ¦ helium losses by diE~usion through the clastomeric envelope ¦ material. There:Eore, such balloons have not been mark~ted ¦ through conventional channels o~ commerce because of the limi-ted I shelf life amountirlg to only a matter o~ days. The limited I li~etime o such balloans has disappointed millions o:E children and h~s ~revented th~ sale o:E the buoy~nt b~lloons by the vast !I major.ity of merchants l~ho do not h~ve t]le resources to fill -the fl balloons as they are sold and ~ho cannot a~ord the inevitable losses ~hiCll are assoc:iated l~ith the short shelf liEe of the~
produc t . .
~arger aeronautical balloorls have been made which have ! rclatively long buoyant lifctimes. In gcneral~ as -the volume j! of a balloon is incrcased then it ~ccomes casicr to design 1 ., ., ;~
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rcl.Ltive:ly im~erme.~ c cnvclope m~tcri;lls, b~c.lusc the larger vol~lme of ~ases will S~ port t?le rel.l-ti~el~ Lllic~ envelope icll is nccesscLry to l)roviclc impermc.ll)ilit:~ for thc ligh-ter tllan air ~!a.scs. ~lucl~ ~or]< ~las b~ell conductc~l in tlle ficld oE
l~rl.~c ~eron.lutic~l balloons to tlc~ise compos~c envelope matcria.ls l~hicll arc relati~el~ impeTmeal)lc to ~,ases an(l provide great s-trengt~l. For e~ample, Germ~n Patent ~'o. 217,110 discloses an envelope materi~l ~ade by ~luin~ galvanic metal paper to cotton, linen or sil~ cloth. Ger~an Patent No. 219,440 discloses a balloon envelcpe material made by sand~iching cloth betwee~
sheets of aluminum and copper. German Patent No. 224,521 dis-closes a balloon envelol)e nlaterial m~cle by bonding corruc~rated sheets o.E metal, glass or or~anic mater:ial to .Eabrics. Genn~n Patent ~o. 227,150 discloses balloon envelope matcrials W]liC]I are made less l)ermeab~e by deposit.ioll o.E a metallic mirror ~inish thereto in cL reduclng b.lth. C;ernlan Pat.ent No. 515,083 discloses balloon cnveloye material made by gll.lin~ ccllulose sXin to metal foil to mutu~lly increase the strength of the layers U.S.
Patent No. 1,793,075 disc~oses ~as envelope ma-terial macle by comb:iJ~ layers o:f rubber:;zcd .Eabr:ic, rl~bber ccmon~ ancl h me~al lcaf. U,S. Paten~ No. 1,8nl,666 discloscs ~ ~as ~nvelope ¦matc~r.ial m~le by co~t:in~ ~ she~t o:E a:lum:inum w:ith a t~lcl~ rubb~
:isome.r, bak:illg the~ resultlll(r compositc to Eorm nn ennlnel coat and adherirlg t]le res~llting sheet to :Enbric, paper, rubber or :~
lcatller. None o:E the above ~atcnts disclose me~tllods by ~hicl tl~e coml~ositc sheet ma~.erials can be :Eashioned into balloon cnvelopes otller thcln hy tlle conventional methocl.s oE seliing~
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~al)ing all~ joint caull;illg li]lich arc only ;uitalllo ~or the very large acronautical baLloolls l~hicll have a substantiaLly large ~all tl~ic~ness o~ t~le ellvelope mltcriaL.
As is app.lrent ~rom tlle above discussion ~ased upon rclatively old ~atcnts, ~st o~ thc researcll in balloon technol-ogy occ~lrrcd before tlle ~lorld liar II era and ~as rclated to aero-nautical type balloons ~or transmitting men and/or equipment In these patents, the ~ords "g~stig]lt" or "~asproof" or "impermeable" are used in a loose sense to describe virtually all non-~oven or nonporous materials. For example, U.S.
~6s8z~
~uu~ o~ 'V~
,'i I ''.
,~1']1iS .illVC'llt;.OlI rclatcs to lig]ltcl than air ~alloons. I
In allotller asl)ect, this invcntion rclatcs to a novel substan- -tially l~ermanent l)uoyant b.~lloon for usc as ~ toy or in adver-. . . .
~ tising l.hich ~ill remain buoyallt Eor an indcfinite period of ! time in exccss of about one year with a potential ma~i~um liEe-, ti~e exceed:ing several years, e.g., at least thirty years.
!~ Conventionally small toy or advertising balloons are made by illing an elastomeric m~ter;al t~ith a helium containing I gas. Such lighter than air balloons have been commonly used and ¦i sold for many years at ~airs, circuses, restaurants and shoppin~
¦¦ centers and the li~e, l~here helium is available to ill the j! balloons shortly before use or sale. Tllus, it is commo~ly ~no~
¦, that such balloons invariably lose their buoyancy w:ithin a I matter o:E a :Ee~ ours or fe~ days at most, as the result o ¦ helium losses by diE~usion through the clastomeric envelope ¦ material. There:Eore, such balloons have not been mark~ted ¦ through conventional channels o~ commerce because of the limi-ted I shelf life amountirlg to only a matter o~ days. The limited I li~etime o such balloans has disappointed millions o:E children and h~s ~revented th~ sale o:E the buoy~nt b~lloons by the vast !I major.ity of merchants l~ho do not h~ve t]le resources to fill -the fl balloons as they are sold and ~ho cannot a~ord the inevitable losses ~hiCll are assoc:iated l~ith the short shelf liEe of the~
produc t . .
~arger aeronautical balloorls have been made which have ! rclatively long buoyant lifctimes. In gcneral~ as -the volume j! of a balloon is incrcased then it ~ccomes casicr to design 1 ., ., ;~
1 . .
.. .. . ' ~
~;' ]~ t~ X I I
. I
L0658;2~
rcl.Ltive:ly im~erme.~ c cnvclope m~tcri;lls, b~c.lusc the larger vol~lme of ~ases will S~ port t?le rel.l-ti~el~ Lllic~ envelope icll is nccesscLry to l)roviclc impermc.ll)ilit:~ for thc ligh-ter tllan air ~!a.scs. ~lucl~ ~or]< ~las b~ell conductc~l in tlle ficld oE
l~rl.~c ~eron.lutic~l balloons to tlc~ise compos~c envelope matcria.ls l~hicll arc relati~el~ impeTmeal)lc to ~,ases an(l provide great s-trengt~l. For e~ample, Germ~n Patent ~'o. 217,110 discloses an envelope materi~l ~ade by ~luin~ galvanic metal paper to cotton, linen or sil~ cloth. Ger~an Patent No. 219,440 discloses a balloon envelcpe material made by sand~iching cloth betwee~
sheets of aluminum and copper. German Patent No. 224,521 dis-closes a balloon envelol)e nlaterial m~cle by bonding corruc~rated sheets o.E metal, glass or or~anic mater:ial to .Eabrics. Genn~n Patent ~o. 227,150 discloses balloon envelope matcrials W]liC]I are made less l)ermeab~e by deposit.ioll o.E a metallic mirror ~inish thereto in cL reduclng b.lth. C;ernlan Pat.ent No. 515,083 discloses balloon cnveloye material made by gll.lin~ ccllulose sXin to metal foil to mutu~lly increase the strength of the layers U.S.
Patent No. 1,793,075 disc~oses ~as envelope ma-terial macle by comb:iJ~ layers o:f rubber:;zcd .Eabr:ic, rl~bber ccmon~ ancl h me~al lcaf. U,S. Paten~ No. 1,8nl,666 discloscs ~ ~as ~nvelope ¦matc~r.ial m~le by co~t:in~ ~ she~t o:E a:lum:inum w:ith a t~lcl~ rubb~
:isome.r, bak:illg the~ resultlll(r compositc to Eorm nn ennlnel coat and adherirlg t]le res~llting sheet to :Enbric, paper, rubber or :~
lcatller. None o:E the above ~atcnts disclose me~tllods by ~hicl tl~e coml~ositc sheet ma~.erials can be :Eashioned into balloon cnvelopes otller thcln hy tlle conventional methocl.s oE seliing~
:
!~ 3 Il ~ f ~ 3U,l :~
658;Z i~
~al)ing all~ joint caull;illg li]lich arc only ;uitalllo ~or the very large acronautical baLloolls l~hicll have a substantiaLly large ~all tl~ic~ness o~ t~le ellvelope mltcriaL.
As is app.lrent ~rom tlle above discussion ~ased upon rclatively old ~atcnts, ~st o~ thc researcll in balloon technol-ogy occ~lrrcd before tlle ~lorld liar II era and ~as rclated to aero-nautical type balloons ~or transmitting men and/or equipment In these patents, the ~ords "g~stig]lt" or "~asproof" or "impermeable" are used in a loose sense to describe virtually all non-~oven or nonporous materials. For example, U.S.
2,730,626 described rubber material as "~astight material" 1' hereas such materials invariably have measureable permeability to lighter than air gases SimilarLy, U.S~ 9~748 describes rubber impregnated fabric coated ~lth clrying oiL and aluminum powder as "gasprooE" ~here "gas reslstant" ~ollld be more accurate.
As a Eurther e~xample oE this usage, treatcd animal s~ins ~ere inaccurately described as "~astight" or "impermeable" in U.S.
1,709,~9~ and German 227~521. Thus, lvhen the ratio o a balloon's volume to the surace area of its envel~pe :Is relatively large, e g. VArU~a_ greater than 0.2 meters ~0.7 ~t.) and typicall~
greater than 1.5 meters (5 Et.), tllen tlle normal di~fusion o~
the ligh~er thcln air ~as such as heLium thro~ the ~nvelope material is net~rli~ibl~ in ~ t the balloon can remain luoyant and aloEt for several days and even several years and thus Eul~ill its designed capability. TllereEore, the prior art balloon cnv~lope materials discussed in these patents ~hich relate to larger aeronautical balloons are described as impermeable or g.asprooE even tllollgh such mateTials are not truly impermeable or gnsproDf .
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~ ~65~2 I It is l~r~ n to ISC Inet,ll l)o~1crc~ coatings on a bllloon cnv~lo~e ~or tl1e l~urI)ose o.E ~ro~cc~ing the envclol~e Onl llCclt all(l l.ig]lt l)ut not to s.ignir.ic~ll1tly improve gas ir,lI~elmeal):il:i.ty. I)isclosllrci o.E sucl1 coatirlgs al~e ~ound in !; GCI~lan l:)atelltS27G~717; 2~6~260j and 2G2,005.. ~urthermore, metal layers have also becn providc~ on a l~alloorl cnvelope to improve ¦ electr:ical conductivity SuC]1 as described in U.S. ~atent 0,732, or to improve tl~e special char~c~eristics of ~eather balloons in IYhich an inde~:inite life is undesirable, r I' described in U.S. 3,340,732.
¦~ . Recent developments in aeronautical balloon technology disclosed the use of biaxially oriented plastic ~ilm ~rom polyole~ins such as described in U.S. 3,608,84~. Ag.lin, 1~ith ¦ the large aeronautical balloons 1/ith cnve:lopes 1~hich have rela-tively lar~e volume to sur:face area ratios, it is not j necessary to hav~ completc].y ~as imperMeab:Le envelopes in order ¦ ~or the b~alloon to have a very long buoyank llfe~time.
Thus, all of t}le teachings Te~erenced above are con- ;::
cerned with aeronautical bc~lloons ~1hich range ~rom ~eather balloons having a volume appro~lmately lO0 cu. ~t. to larc~i~r :~
¦ balloons intended ~or pract.ical l~ ing o:F men or m~ter.ials ~hich ¦ xange i.n volume :ETOm a~o~lt 200n cu. Et. to ove~:r one mi~l:ion cu.
¦ ~t. 'l`l1e m~tcr.ia:ls c1.lsc:Losccl ns s~ r~ble Eor SUC}1 :large~ b~l.lloons ~:
¦cannot be scaled do~ to form suitclble toy or advertising balloons 1~hich have a volume in t]1e oTder o.E 20 cu. ft. or smaller ~bcc~ se ~h~ increase :in sur.Eace area in relatiorl to volume o~ the ~! rc.r;ulting envelope accompanyin~ ~uch a rcduc-tion ;n sizc ~/ill allol~ too mucl~ o~ t}le l:i.gl1tcrthcln ~:ir ~ia~ -to cscape througll the cnvelol)e matcricll.
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o r ~x .~ c, ~ L g i V ~Tl l~ o l ~ r~ r i c cJI v c~ l op e ~ c r i of ~iven permeability and confi~,ur~Ltiorl, the buoy~nt lif~time 'L) v~ries in prol7OltiOn to t]le scluare o~ tlle linear sizc (D), c.~., tlle dlallletcr or radius in tlle casc o~ a spherc~ as dcfined by the c~uatio~ ~X~2 IJ.sing tllis COI~IOll matllelnati~al c~ression it is readily possible to compare t]le performance o:E rel. tively smaller balls)ons to that o:E a hypoLhetical large spherical balloon llavin~ a Tadius o~ 62 ft., a corresponding volume o one million cubic feet and a reasonable hypothetical buoyant li~etiTne expectancy o 100 years based on the properties of conventional balloon ~ ~1 envelope materials. Such a balloon ~Jould correspond in size to a large blimp or dirigib:Le gas b~g and its e:Eficiellcy ill teTms of buoyant liEetime or rate of llelium loss is so great that any furtller improvement in huoyant liEetime is econnmically trivial.
]le .choicc of thls extremely large balloon :Eor a standard is also signi~icant becallse the relatively thick envelope allo~s the use of sophistica-tcd complex la~inate envelope material which cannot in actual practice be scaled down ~or a smaller balloon.
The scaling down of t]lis balloon to a sm~ll blimp ~lavin~ a sphere Tadius oE 36 ~t. and a volume o:E 200,000 cu. ~t. ~.ill rcsult in a h~pothetical buoyant li~et:ime o 3~ ycars. ~urth~r scal:ing do~rl such l)alloon to a typ;cal :l to ~ man sporting balloon having a sphere radius of 18 ft. and a volume o:E 24,000 cu. ~t. results in a hypothetical buoyallt lictime o 8.~ year~.
kurt}ler scaling the large ~alloon do~n to a size o a minimum size man lift balloon havin~ a splle-re radius of 12 ft.
and a volume of 7,000 cu. rt. re~ults in a hypotlletic~ uoyant (~
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L065~3Z~3 l:if~tilne o~ cl~?out :~.7 yo~ s. 'I`o .fnrt'iler scalc sucll lartTc b~llloon do~n to the si~c oE a toy balloorl having a s~ ere radius o j' 0.~9 ~t. arld volulne o.i^ 1/2 cu. ft. rcslllts in a hypot~letical I, bLIoyant liEctime O:ir. ollLy al)o~lit 2.3 clays. Tlnls J it i.s cleilr ii that conveTltional ~)alloons ~;th rc~ativc~ly lon(, lly~othetical li buoy.ln~ iEctimes, c~nnot l)e cC-~ccti~cly scalcd do~m usin~T
¦~ existing balloon cn~elope technology to yiold small balloons ¦, having a volume oE 20 cu. ft. or less and relatively small volume to surface area ratios bu-t also relatively long ~uoyant I lifetimes.
S~I~RY OF THE IhVENTION
¦ According to the invention~ I have discoverèd that . ¦ buoyant balloons havintT ex-trelnely long and incleEinite li~et:lmes but also having ~ relat:ively smaLl volume to sur~ace areL ratlos ,.
¦can be made uti.lizin~ a balloon cnvelope m~Ltcrial ~h:icll COlil-¦prise~s a composite o:f a nonelLstomeric polymer sheet or laminate ¦~hich carries a contin~lous layer or coating o:E a metal on at .:
least one side thereo.~, and ~herein the envelope llas an internal volume o~ up to abou-t 20 cu. ~t. and a ratio of .its volume taken to the t~o-thirds po~er to its sllr Eacc area o:E :Erom about O . 21 to abollt 0.0:l, and :Eur-tllermore ~lhere:in khe avera~e ~ei~ht o~ the anvelop~ in t:he r~n~ o:E ~roTn abnllt. ~..6 x 10 ~ gm/c:m~ to al)out 1.7 x 10 2 g~m/cm2. 'rhe continuous metal lcLyer can be a thin metal ~ilm or Eoil sucll as an alumirlum Eoil laminated ::
to ~lle nonel~-Lstolnerlc polym~r, or .in a pre~:Eerrcd ernbodirnent o~ the subject invention the metLLl coating can be formed on the nonelastomer.ic polymer sheet ~)y v~por cleposition tcchnicl~les in-clucl;.rl~g vac~l~lm rneti~ .inlT, vapor plla.se~ de~os.ition ancl c~.at11ode I .
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~6582~ 1 Irl aCCOr(~ lCC ~-'ith OIIC C]~ odil~lerlt o:E the sUI)jCCt invent:ioll, tlle b.lllooIl cnve:l.oye is made l~y S~illg ~ SUC]l as hea~
se.~ peripheral portiolls o~ panels ~ade o:E the above material w}l.i.le in a tl~o-dimensioI~ lay~ t ~or~ to any desired t~o- :~
di~ensional sllape. The resulting cnvelope is illcd ~/ith a .
. lightcr tll.lrl ail gasJ pre~crably hel.iu~? and it is sub~tantially permeable thereto and ~ill rcmain buoyant or a long period ~:
of time.
SI-IORr DE CRIPTIO~7 0~ DP~IiINGS
This invention can be more eas:ily understood rom I a stIldy of the dr~wings in lihich: ~
¦ FIGURES 1 through ~ are cross sectional vie~s of ` ~.
I various envelope materials whicll can be used in the balloon of j the subject inven-tion;
~IGURE 5 is a plan view o pallels or a speci:Eic :
balloon erIvelope ~hich can be made in accordance w:ith the subject invention; `
FIGURE 6 is a plan vie-~ o~ t~o of the panels described lin ~IGURE S sealed toaether at peripheral regions to orm the ¦lay-1at balloon envelope in the scope o:f the subject invention; , ~ IGIJRE 7 is a perspective view o:E the envelope o:E
FIGIIRE 6 in~lated ~ith a llghter than a.ir $as;
PXCURF:S ~a throu~h 8c a~ part:ial deta:il views showing Inozzle sealing arrangements or envelopes o~ the subject ...
¦,invention; and .
i FIG~IRr:S 9 through 1~ illustrate some typical envelope ,shapes which can be utilized in the scope of the subject invention . ;~
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~ s set forLII al)ove in ~he prior art description of t}liS sl)e`~i:EiCLltiOrl, it is impossil)lc to scalc down en~rllleerin . desic~lls o.E large aeronauticLIl bal.loolls to dcsirn small balloons , hL~Vi.rlll a VOlllme O:~ ~hO~lt 20 CU. ~t. or lcss and ~-hicll have long I buoy;lnt lifetimes, e. ~r, ~ l~hiCIl e~ccecl several ~ee~s. In essence, ¦ . in the l~rger aeronautical balloons l~hich have a relatively ::
l large ratiooE volume to surfacc are~a, some diffusion of the ..
lighter than air ~as from the interior through the envelope is ~
, permissible. Furthermore, because of the relatively lar~e volume I o~ the gas, the envelope can be relatively thick and heavy, but d~
¦ yet still be lited by the large volume o.E buoyant gas. lYhen :
using conventioncal t~chniques, ho~ever, .in desi~nin~ smaller balloons, in order to hcave a buoyant body, the ~/al:l tilic~;nesses oE conventlon~l r!lateri.als arc generally so tllin th~t the li~,hter .`
th.ln a:i.r g.lS eclsily di~Euses l:llerctllrough and thus the balloon ¦ ~oses itS~)uoyancy in a relc~t:ively s]lort period oE time In ..
'l essence, I ~ound that in order for a balloon l~hich is a toy ~ :~
balloon or an advertising bc~lloon hav:in~ up to about ~0 cu. ~t. `:
I in vol~lme to be substantially per~allently buoyant, it .is ¦nec~ssclr)r that the envelo~e be sul~st~ntia:lly impermeable to the I lir,hter `thLIl ~ir ~a~ ~t carries) typ,ic~L.I:ly he:lium, l~ec~use the ~vo:lume to s~lr:Eace area ratio :is so small thclt even sl:icoht ¦~permeability o the envelope results in d;sastrous 1QSS o.E the Ihuoyant Elu:id. ~n add.itlon, it is necessLary that the envelope Imater:i.cl:l not be so lleavy as to oE:Eset the gross liftinc. force of ~t]lo 1)uoyant Eluid.
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~6s8~8 -In~:lata~:lc b;l'lloolls and toys arc not l)rcsentl~ a~e , o~ such arl ideal envclol~e ma~erial~ ~or cxamplc, small ,'' cl.astomeric 1)a11OQI1S l~h:icl~ are normally fi:lle~ ith ]lelium ' usllally ~ccome noJIl)uoya~ itllin t-lo or tllree days because o~ ¦
'" difusion o~ the llelium ~ rou(rh t~e el.lstomeric s~in. Further-, morc~ the matcrials Yitll ~hicil nonbuo~nt ~ir inflat~blc toys :
are made are not acceptable even though SUC]I toys can be filled ith air and remain illed t~ith air inde~in:itely. The reason ¦¦ or tllis is that these toys contain air, at most, at a trivial ~pressure above atmospherlc and thus air diEfuses both in and out of the plastic envelope at abou-t equal rates so that therc is ¦no driving :~orce for deflation. Fur-thermore, such plastics ¦~ith which the envelopes :~or the toys are made are ~ar les~ :.
permeable to 2 alld N2 than to,hel.iul~'and the volume to sur~a~c ~, area ratios.are immateri.a:l in non-a.ir buoyant in:Elatable o'bjects.
' I have ~ound that envelopes can be made ~hich ~Yhen filled ~ith a lighter tllall air gas remain substan-tially . ' !permanently buoyant or balloons up to 20 cu. ft. in volume i 'the envelope material comprises certain nonelastomeric po'lymer . Isheets havln~ a continuolls thill metal coat:ing or layer the~eon ~ l or there:in. Tlle enve1opes o.E the subject inven~.ion also have ., a rat:io o;~ e ln:i~ l inter~al vo.lurn~ (~VO) taken to the 'tl~O~ ;~
t]lirds pol~er cliyide~d by the sur:Eace area ~S) o the envelope . .
in the ran~e of about 0.21 to about 0.01~ i.e., the ratio o~
- - = ~ 0.21 to ~ 0. o:a. Tlle unit l~eiDht o~ the envelope .
~dependin~ upon the size) can ran~e from a lol~ o~ about 5.3 x 10 ~ ll)s./~t. ~2.6 x 10 ~ gm/cm2) to a h:ig}l oE about !~3~5 x 10-2 lbs./~t.2 (1.7 ~ 10-2 gmtcm2).
~'' , . .' !l ; 13-2()~1 6 ~2~ II
In C.~SCIICC, the th.in mctal l~lyer on tIIc l~lasti.c is iml)c nne;~ lc to tI~ tcr tlIall air ~r,l~ .Ind the l.1yer o.F thc nonel.lstorner.ic polymer l~rov:i.des .~t~uctural intcsrity -~or the met~ll as l~e:l.L as .~il:linr, a~ holcs or iInl)er~ec~ions tll,lt may exist in t}~C COntillUOUs met~ll layer. 'l`Ile r~sulting composite is ~ starL~:i<llly impermeal)lc to li~.~hter than air gases such as helium ~-'hiCIl arc use~ in the balloon as th~ ~uoycint ~luid.
The structure of the envelope mateTial .can ta~e various forms, .~.
exarnples of ~hich are illustr~ted in ~ ures l through 4 oE
the drawing. I~ ~.s to be ~mders-tood, however~ that other :~.
structuTes can be utilized in the scope oE the subject invention .:
so long as they comprise tlle basic substrate o~ the nonelasto- '~
meric poLymer having the continuous me-tal coating or layer ; :
thereon or therein and so long as the resultin~ unit ~ei~ht oE
the composite an~ volume to sur:facc area relationship of the cnvelope :Ealls ~/ith:in the ranges set ~orth above.
Now speciEically re:Eerrin~ to ~i~ure l~ a crass sectional view o:E an envclope material ~hicII can be used in the scope of the subject invention is schernatically depicted. ~$
sho~Yn, the structuTe lO comprises a laminate o~ a nonelastomer:ic continuous poly~er :ilm 12, c.g.~ ~olyetIly1ene hav:in~ a thic~ness o:E O.l to 6.5 m:i:ls, and a continuous lCLyer 1~ o:E a polymc~r W~L;iCh cun be c:ithc-~.:r s:im:i.:lar o.r d:iss.irn:i.LIr to tlle polymer ~hic}l :Eo~ls layer 12, and a thin sheet o:E me:tal ilm l6 ~hich is lar~inated to sheets 12 and l~ by conven~.ional tecIlnicl-les such as heat l~m:in;lt..i~ rhe metal ~ Lm 16 can be ~lny thinly rolled ilm o:E any ~ell ~no~n metal or alloy. ~referably, Eilm 16 is a hin f~1m of a1umLnum. Gcnerally, the tIIlc~ne3s oE fi1m 16 .' . .. :
Il ll 2(~L
5~
~i.ll del)c~ poll tlle ~cnsit)r oE t}le metal all~ the malleability o.f tlle met~l:l, but can r~lrlge i.~ icl;n~s~; Lrom al~ou~ 0.1 to ~)out 2.~ mils.
It is no~ecl thclt layers 12 arlcl 1~ oeed not llave the same thic~ness an~ in~ced ~ihen l~yer 1~ is thc inner layer :Eor.
t~e envelopc, i.t is gcllerall~ l~re~crrcd that it be from 0.05 to 20 times as thic~ as tl~c outer layer lZ an~ ~e used essentially to heat seal the v~Lrious panels in the envelope together alo~lg .
peripheral portions thereo:f as ~ell as to contribute to the increased strength oE the envelope. A ~articularly acceptable combination comprises layer 12 made of polyethylene having a thic~ness of from 0.25 to 2 mils; layer 16 being a thinly rolled aluminum :Eilm having a thic~ness ~rom 0.1.7 to 1.0 mils ancl layer 14 being a diss:imilar res:in to that in layer 12 s~lch as ~
polyester having a thic~ness in the rant~e of :Erom 0.25 to 2 mils. . .
. r~sscntially, al:~ common continuous nonelastomeric polymer films are usab:le as layers 12 and l~ itllin the scope of the subject invention, Eor example~ polyole~ins such as poly- . .
ethylene or polypropylene; polyvinylidene chloride ~saran~;
polyester; polyvinyl chloride; cellophane; polyvinyl alcollol;
regeneratcd cellulose, polyuretllall~, ethylene viny:l acetate copolymer, ionomers, poly~mides and nltrile polymers~ and the likc~ ~s st~lte(l~ al~lm.inum ls the I)r~:Eorred meta:l to be~ used as :layer 16, especial:ly :in the case o~ rolled met~ls. Ho~ever, most malleable common metals can also be used so long as they can b~ r~llecl ox dra-~n or :Eormed illtO thin s~lbstantially con-tinuous Eilms. It is noted that these substantially continuous metal ~ilms can have numerous pinholes having a size rangin~
from microscopic to t}le order o.E several milimetcrs. Ex~mples ~ 1~ , Il l!
)r~L
;!~
~
o~ oL]~er ~ujitll)le mctoli incluc~c col~l)cr, ~olc1, silver~ iron, c11ro~ m, nic];el, ancl tl~ e.
J~ lrc 2 dc~ict; ~nothcr composite envcloI)e matcrial icll cal1 bc usecl in thc sco~)c oF ~I1e su1)jcct invc-~ntion. ~s ~ -sho~rl, conlpositc 20 comprises a basic substrate of a con~inuous ~;~
nonc:lastomeric polylner Eilm 22 ~1icl1 CL1n ~)e m-de o the same material as ~ilms 12 and l~ described in ~igure l above.
I ~Iowever, the continuous l~yer 24 is a vapor deposited metal i' Any convention2?. tcchnique can be utilized :~or the v~por cleposi-j, tion of 1~etal layer 24 upon the nonelastomeric polymer layer 22.
¦' It is noted tha. the vapor deposi~ shown as metal layer 24 in i! Figure 2 is grossly exaggerated in tllickness :Eor illustr.~tive ¦I purposes Generally, layer 2~ ~ill hclve a tllickness in -the i range o~ frorn about 3 x l0 7 in to about 2 ~ l0 3 in. ~nd preferab:ly from about l x lO fi in. to about 5 ~ lQ 5in. I ~ound thclt tI1e cont:iItLlo~ls nonelast:ic polymer ~ilm 2Z can rc-~ceive a colting oE meta:L thro~gh vclpor cleposition suECLcient to reI~der the film essent:ially opaclue and res~llt in a subst~ntial~y ~as impermec~ble compositc. Other exclmples oE enve:lope materials which carry v~por depos:ited met.~l co~tin~s thercon ~hich can be ~`
secl in the scope oE the sul)ject invent.ion ar~ scllem~tica~ly clepicte~l in ~i~ur~ 3 and ~. ~s illl1strat~d ~ urc ~ composit~
As a Eurther e~xample oE this usage, treatcd animal s~ins ~ere inaccurately described as "~astight" or "impermeable" in U.S.
1,709,~9~ and German 227~521. Thus, lvhen the ratio o a balloon's volume to the surace area of its envel~pe :Is relatively large, e g. VArU~a_ greater than 0.2 meters ~0.7 ~t.) and typicall~
greater than 1.5 meters (5 Et.), tllen tlle normal di~fusion o~
the ligh~er thcln air ~as such as heLium thro~ the ~nvelope material is net~rli~ibl~ in ~ t the balloon can remain luoyant and aloEt for several days and even several years and thus Eul~ill its designed capability. TllereEore, the prior art balloon cnv~lope materials discussed in these patents ~hich relate to larger aeronautical balloons are described as impermeable or g.asprooE even tllollgh such mateTials are not truly impermeable or gnsproDf .
, . .
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~ ~65~2 I It is l~r~ n to ISC Inet,ll l)o~1crc~ coatings on a bllloon cnv~lo~e ~or tl1e l~urI)ose o.E ~ro~cc~ing the envclol~e Onl llCclt all(l l.ig]lt l)ut not to s.ignir.ic~ll1tly improve gas ir,lI~elmeal):il:i.ty. I)isclosllrci o.E sucl1 coatirlgs al~e ~ound in !; GCI~lan l:)atelltS27G~717; 2~6~260j and 2G2,005.. ~urthermore, metal layers have also becn providc~ on a l~alloorl cnvelope to improve ¦ electr:ical conductivity SuC]1 as described in U.S. ~atent 0,732, or to improve tl~e special char~c~eristics of ~eather balloons in IYhich an inde~:inite life is undesirable, r I' described in U.S. 3,340,732.
¦~ . Recent developments in aeronautical balloon technology disclosed the use of biaxially oriented plastic ~ilm ~rom polyole~ins such as described in U.S. 3,608,84~. Ag.lin, 1~ith ¦ the large aeronautical balloons 1/ith cnve:lopes 1~hich have rela-tively lar~e volume to sur:face area ratios, it is not j necessary to hav~ completc].y ~as imperMeab:Le envelopes in order ¦ ~or the b~alloon to have a very long buoyank llfe~time.
Thus, all of t}le teachings Te~erenced above are con- ;::
cerned with aeronautical bc~lloons ~1hich range ~rom ~eather balloons having a volume appro~lmately lO0 cu. ~t. to larc~i~r :~
¦ balloons intended ~or pract.ical l~ ing o:F men or m~ter.ials ~hich ¦ xange i.n volume :ETOm a~o~lt 200n cu. Et. to ove~:r one mi~l:ion cu.
¦ ~t. 'l`l1e m~tcr.ia:ls c1.lsc:Losccl ns s~ r~ble Eor SUC}1 :large~ b~l.lloons ~:
¦cannot be scaled do~ to form suitclble toy or advertising balloons 1~hich have a volume in t]1e oTder o.E 20 cu. ft. or smaller ~bcc~ se ~h~ increase :in sur.Eace area in relatiorl to volume o~ the ~! rc.r;ulting envelope accompanyin~ ~uch a rcduc-tion ;n sizc ~/ill allol~ too mucl~ o~ t}le l:i.gl1tcrthcln ~:ir ~ia~ -to cscape througll the cnvelol)e matcricll.
,`, .
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o r ~x .~ c, ~ L g i V ~Tl l~ o l ~ r~ r i c cJI v c~ l op e ~ c r i of ~iven permeability and confi~,ur~Ltiorl, the buoy~nt lif~time 'L) v~ries in prol7OltiOn to t]le scluare o~ tlle linear sizc (D), c.~., tlle dlallletcr or radius in tlle casc o~ a spherc~ as dcfined by the c~uatio~ ~X~2 IJ.sing tllis COI~IOll matllelnati~al c~ression it is readily possible to compare t]le performance o:E rel. tively smaller balls)ons to that o:E a hypoLhetical large spherical balloon llavin~ a Tadius o~ 62 ft., a corresponding volume o one million cubic feet and a reasonable hypothetical buoyant li~etiTne expectancy o 100 years based on the properties of conventional balloon ~ ~1 envelope materials. Such a balloon ~Jould correspond in size to a large blimp or dirigib:Le gas b~g and its e:Eficiellcy ill teTms of buoyant liEetime or rate of llelium loss is so great that any furtller improvement in huoyant liEetime is econnmically trivial.
]le .choicc of thls extremely large balloon :Eor a standard is also signi~icant becallse the relatively thick envelope allo~s the use of sophistica-tcd complex la~inate envelope material which cannot in actual practice be scaled down ~or a smaller balloon.
The scaling down of t]lis balloon to a sm~ll blimp ~lavin~ a sphere Tadius oE 36 ~t. and a volume o:E 200,000 cu. ~t. ~.ill rcsult in a h~pothetical buoyant li~et:ime o 3~ ycars. ~urth~r scal:ing do~rl such l)alloon to a typ;cal :l to ~ man sporting balloon having a sphere radius of 18 ft. and a volume o:E 24,000 cu. ~t. results in a hypothetical buoyallt lictime o 8.~ year~.
kurt}ler scaling the large ~alloon do~n to a size o a minimum size man lift balloon havin~ a splle-re radius of 12 ft.
and a volume of 7,000 cu. rt. re~ults in a hypotlletic~ uoyant (~
.11 .
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1 . I
L065~3Z~3 l:if~tilne o~ cl~?out :~.7 yo~ s. 'I`o .fnrt'iler scalc sucll lartTc b~llloon do~n to the si~c oE a toy balloorl having a s~ ere radius o j' 0.~9 ~t. arld volulne o.i^ 1/2 cu. ft. rcslllts in a hypot~letical I, bLIoyant liEctime O:ir. ollLy al)o~lit 2.3 clays. Tlnls J it i.s cleilr ii that conveTltional ~)alloons ~;th rc~ativc~ly lon(, lly~othetical li buoy.ln~ iEctimes, c~nnot l)e cC-~ccti~cly scalcd do~m usin~T
¦~ existing balloon cn~elope technology to yiold small balloons ¦, having a volume oE 20 cu. ft. or less and relatively small volume to surface area ratios bu-t also relatively long ~uoyant I lifetimes.
S~I~RY OF THE IhVENTION
¦ According to the invention~ I have discoverèd that . ¦ buoyant balloons havintT ex-trelnely long and incleEinite li~et:lmes but also having ~ relat:ively smaLl volume to sur~ace areL ratlos ,.
¦can be made uti.lizin~ a balloon cnvelope m~Ltcrial ~h:icll COlil-¦prise~s a composite o:f a nonelLstomeric polymer sheet or laminate ¦~hich carries a contin~lous layer or coating o:E a metal on at .:
least one side thereo.~, and ~herein the envelope llas an internal volume o~ up to abou-t 20 cu. ~t. and a ratio of .its volume taken to the t~o-thirds po~er to its sllr Eacc area o:E :Erom about O . 21 to abollt 0.0:l, and :Eur-tllermore ~lhere:in khe avera~e ~ei~ht o~ the anvelop~ in t:he r~n~ o:E ~roTn abnllt. ~..6 x 10 ~ gm/c:m~ to al)out 1.7 x 10 2 g~m/cm2. 'rhe continuous metal lcLyer can be a thin metal ~ilm or Eoil sucll as an alumirlum Eoil laminated ::
to ~lle nonel~-Lstolnerlc polym~r, or .in a pre~:Eerrcd ernbodirnent o~ the subject invention the metLLl coating can be formed on the nonelastomer.ic polymer sheet ~)y v~por cleposition tcchnicl~les in-clucl;.rl~g vac~l~lm rneti~ .inlT, vapor plla.se~ de~os.ition ancl c~.at11ode I .
ttcrir~. I
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~6582~ 1 Irl aCCOr(~ lCC ~-'ith OIIC C]~ odil~lerlt o:E the sUI)jCCt invent:ioll, tlle b.lllooIl cnve:l.oye is made l~y S~illg ~ SUC]l as hea~
se.~ peripheral portiolls o~ panels ~ade o:E the above material w}l.i.le in a tl~o-dimensioI~ lay~ t ~or~ to any desired t~o- :~
di~ensional sllape. The resulting cnvelope is illcd ~/ith a .
. lightcr tll.lrl ail gasJ pre~crably hel.iu~? and it is sub~tantially permeable thereto and ~ill rcmain buoyant or a long period ~:
of time.
SI-IORr DE CRIPTIO~7 0~ DP~IiINGS
This invention can be more eas:ily understood rom I a stIldy of the dr~wings in lihich: ~
¦ FIGURES 1 through ~ are cross sectional vie~s of ` ~.
I various envelope materials whicll can be used in the balloon of j the subject inven-tion;
~IGURE 5 is a plan view o pallels or a speci:Eic :
balloon erIvelope ~hich can be made in accordance w:ith the subject invention; `
FIGURE 6 is a plan vie-~ o~ t~o of the panels described lin ~IGURE S sealed toaether at peripheral regions to orm the ¦lay-1at balloon envelope in the scope o:f the subject invention; , ~ IGIJRE 7 is a perspective view o:E the envelope o:E
FIGIIRE 6 in~lated ~ith a llghter than a.ir $as;
PXCURF:S ~a throu~h 8c a~ part:ial deta:il views showing Inozzle sealing arrangements or envelopes o~ the subject ...
¦,invention; and .
i FIG~IRr:S 9 through 1~ illustrate some typical envelope ,shapes which can be utilized in the scope of the subject invention . ;~
,' ., . ~ , !
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658Z~3 s~! r~ nl I~Ir ~ rln!l ¦
~ s set forLII al)ove in ~he prior art description of t}liS sl)e`~i:EiCLltiOrl, it is impossil)lc to scalc down en~rllleerin . desic~lls o.E large aeronauticLIl bal.loolls to dcsirn small balloons , hL~Vi.rlll a VOlllme O:~ ~hO~lt 20 CU. ~t. or lcss and ~-hicll have long I buoy;lnt lifetimes, e. ~r, ~ l~hiCIl e~ccecl several ~ee~s. In essence, ¦ . in the l~rger aeronautical balloons l~hich have a relatively ::
l large ratiooE volume to surfacc are~a, some diffusion of the ..
lighter than air ~as from the interior through the envelope is ~
, permissible. Furthermore, because of the relatively lar~e volume I o~ the gas, the envelope can be relatively thick and heavy, but d~
¦ yet still be lited by the large volume o.E buoyant gas. lYhen :
using conventioncal t~chniques, ho~ever, .in desi~nin~ smaller balloons, in order to hcave a buoyant body, the ~/al:l tilic~;nesses oE conventlon~l r!lateri.als arc generally so tllin th~t the li~,hter .`
th.ln a:i.r g.lS eclsily di~Euses l:llerctllrough and thus the balloon ¦ ~oses itS~)uoyancy in a relc~t:ively s]lort period oE time In ..
'l essence, I ~ound that in order for a balloon l~hich is a toy ~ :~
balloon or an advertising bc~lloon hav:in~ up to about ~0 cu. ~t. `:
I in vol~lme to be substantially per~allently buoyant, it .is ¦nec~ssclr)r that the envelo~e be sul~st~ntia:lly impermeable to the I lir,hter `thLIl ~ir ~a~ ~t carries) typ,ic~L.I:ly he:lium, l~ec~use the ~vo:lume to s~lr:Eace area ratio :is so small thclt even sl:icoht ¦~permeability o the envelope results in d;sastrous 1QSS o.E the Ihuoyant Elu:id. ~n add.itlon, it is necessLary that the envelope Imater:i.cl:l not be so lleavy as to oE:Eset the gross liftinc. force of ~t]lo 1)uoyant Eluid.
l; ~ ' '. ~:
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: '' "' '' .j,, I
~6s8~8 -In~:lata~:lc b;l'lloolls and toys arc not l)rcsentl~ a~e , o~ such arl ideal envclol~e ma~erial~ ~or cxamplc, small ,'' cl.astomeric 1)a11OQI1S l~h:icl~ are normally fi:lle~ ith ]lelium ' usllally ~ccome noJIl)uoya~ itllin t-lo or tllree days because o~ ¦
'" difusion o~ the llelium ~ rou(rh t~e el.lstomeric s~in. Further-, morc~ the matcrials Yitll ~hicil nonbuo~nt ~ir inflat~blc toys :
are made are not acceptable even though SUC]I toys can be filled ith air and remain illed t~ith air inde~in:itely. The reason ¦¦ or tllis is that these toys contain air, at most, at a trivial ~pressure above atmospherlc and thus air diEfuses both in and out of the plastic envelope at abou-t equal rates so that therc is ¦no driving :~orce for deflation. Fur-thermore, such plastics ¦~ith which the envelopes :~or the toys are made are ~ar les~ :.
permeable to 2 alld N2 than to,hel.iul~'and the volume to sur~a~c ~, area ratios.are immateri.a:l in non-a.ir buoyant in:Elatable o'bjects.
' I have ~ound that envelopes can be made ~hich ~Yhen filled ~ith a lighter tllall air gas remain substan-tially . ' !permanently buoyant or balloons up to 20 cu. ft. in volume i 'the envelope material comprises certain nonelastomeric po'lymer . Isheets havln~ a continuolls thill metal coat:ing or layer the~eon ~ l or there:in. Tlle enve1opes o.E the subject inven~.ion also have ., a rat:io o;~ e ln:i~ l inter~al vo.lurn~ (~VO) taken to the 'tl~O~ ;~
t]lirds pol~er cliyide~d by the sur:Eace area ~S) o the envelope . .
in the ran~e of about 0.21 to about 0.01~ i.e., the ratio o~
- - = ~ 0.21 to ~ 0. o:a. Tlle unit l~eiDht o~ the envelope .
~dependin~ upon the size) can ran~e from a lol~ o~ about 5.3 x 10 ~ ll)s./~t. ~2.6 x 10 ~ gm/cm2) to a h:ig}l oE about !~3~5 x 10-2 lbs./~t.2 (1.7 ~ 10-2 gmtcm2).
~'' , . .' !l ; 13-2()~1 6 ~2~ II
In C.~SCIICC, the th.in mctal l~lyer on tIIc l~lasti.c is iml)c nne;~ lc to tI~ tcr tlIall air ~r,l~ .Ind the l.1yer o.F thc nonel.lstorner.ic polymer l~rov:i.des .~t~uctural intcsrity -~or the met~ll as l~e:l.L as .~il:linr, a~ holcs or iInl)er~ec~ions tll,lt may exist in t}~C COntillUOUs met~ll layer. 'l`Ile r~sulting composite is ~ starL~:i<llly impermeal)lc to li~.~hter than air gases such as helium ~-'hiCIl arc use~ in the balloon as th~ ~uoycint ~luid.
The structure of the envelope mateTial .can ta~e various forms, .~.
exarnples of ~hich are illustr~ted in ~ ures l through 4 oE
the drawing. I~ ~.s to be ~mders-tood, however~ that other :~.
structuTes can be utilized in the scope oE the subject invention .:
so long as they comprise tlle basic substrate o~ the nonelasto- '~
meric poLymer having the continuous me-tal coating or layer ; :
thereon or therein and so long as the resultin~ unit ~ei~ht oE
the composite an~ volume to sur:facc area relationship of the cnvelope :Ealls ~/ith:in the ranges set ~orth above.
Now speciEically re:Eerrin~ to ~i~ure l~ a crass sectional view o:E an envclope material ~hicII can be used in the scope of the subject invention is schernatically depicted. ~$
sho~Yn, the structuTe lO comprises a laminate o~ a nonelastomer:ic continuous poly~er :ilm 12, c.g.~ ~olyetIly1ene hav:in~ a thic~ness o:E O.l to 6.5 m:i:ls, and a continuous lCLyer 1~ o:E a polymc~r W~L;iCh cun be c:ithc-~.:r s:im:i.:lar o.r d:iss.irn:i.LIr to tlle polymer ~hic}l :Eo~ls layer 12, and a thin sheet o:E me:tal ilm l6 ~hich is lar~inated to sheets 12 and l~ by conven~.ional tecIlnicl-les such as heat l~m:in;lt..i~ rhe metal ~ Lm 16 can be ~lny thinly rolled ilm o:E any ~ell ~no~n metal or alloy. ~referably, Eilm 16 is a hin f~1m of a1umLnum. Gcnerally, the tIIlc~ne3s oE fi1m 16 .' . .. :
Il ll 2(~L
5~
~i.ll del)c~ poll tlle ~cnsit)r oE t}le metal all~ the malleability o.f tlle met~l:l, but can r~lrlge i.~ icl;n~s~; Lrom al~ou~ 0.1 to ~)out 2.~ mils.
It is no~ecl thclt layers 12 arlcl 1~ oeed not llave the same thic~ness an~ in~ced ~ihen l~yer 1~ is thc inner layer :Eor.
t~e envelopc, i.t is gcllerall~ l~re~crrcd that it be from 0.05 to 20 times as thic~ as tl~c outer layer lZ an~ ~e used essentially to heat seal the v~Lrious panels in the envelope together alo~lg .
peripheral portions thereo:f as ~ell as to contribute to the increased strength oE the envelope. A ~articularly acceptable combination comprises layer 12 made of polyethylene having a thic~ness of from 0.25 to 2 mils; layer 16 being a thinly rolled aluminum :Eilm having a thic~ness ~rom 0.1.7 to 1.0 mils ancl layer 14 being a diss:imilar res:in to that in layer 12 s~lch as ~
polyester having a thic~ness in the rant~e of :Erom 0.25 to 2 mils. . .
. r~sscntially, al:~ common continuous nonelastomeric polymer films are usab:le as layers 12 and l~ itllin the scope of the subject invention, Eor example~ polyole~ins such as poly- . .
ethylene or polypropylene; polyvinylidene chloride ~saran~;
polyester; polyvinyl chloride; cellophane; polyvinyl alcollol;
regeneratcd cellulose, polyuretllall~, ethylene viny:l acetate copolymer, ionomers, poly~mides and nltrile polymers~ and the likc~ ~s st~lte(l~ al~lm.inum ls the I)r~:Eorred meta:l to be~ used as :layer 16, especial:ly :in the case o~ rolled met~ls. Ho~ever, most malleable common metals can also be used so long as they can b~ r~llecl ox dra-~n or :Eormed illtO thin s~lbstantially con-tinuous Eilms. It is noted that these substantially continuous metal ~ilms can have numerous pinholes having a size rangin~
from microscopic to t}le order o.E several milimetcrs. Ex~mples ~ 1~ , Il l!
)r~L
;!~
~
o~ oL]~er ~ujitll)le mctoli incluc~c col~l)cr, ~olc1, silver~ iron, c11ro~ m, nic];el, ancl tl~ e.
J~ lrc 2 dc~ict; ~nothcr composite envcloI)e matcrial icll cal1 bc usecl in thc sco~)c oF ~I1e su1)jcct invc-~ntion. ~s ~ -sho~rl, conlpositc 20 comprises a basic substrate of a con~inuous ~;~
nonc:lastomeric polylner Eilm 22 ~1icl1 CL1n ~)e m-de o the same material as ~ilms 12 and l~ described in ~igure l above.
I ~Iowever, the continuous l~yer 24 is a vapor deposited metal i' Any convention2?. tcchnique can be utilized :~or the v~por cleposi-j, tion of 1~etal layer 24 upon the nonelastomeric polymer layer 22.
¦' It is noted tha. the vapor deposi~ shown as metal layer 24 in i! Figure 2 is grossly exaggerated in tllickness :Eor illustr.~tive ¦I purposes Generally, layer 2~ ~ill hclve a tllickness in -the i range o~ frorn about 3 x l0 7 in to about 2 ~ l0 3 in. ~nd preferab:ly from about l x lO fi in. to about 5 ~ lQ 5in. I ~ound thclt tI1e cont:iItLlo~ls nonelast:ic polymer ~ilm 2Z can rc-~ceive a colting oE meta:L thro~gh vclpor cleposition suECLcient to reI~der the film essent:ially opaclue and res~llt in a subst~ntial~y ~as impermec~ble compositc. Other exclmples oE enve:lope materials which carry v~por depos:ited met.~l co~tin~s thercon ~hich can be ~`
secl in the scope oE the sul)ject invent.ion ar~ scllem~tica~ly clepicte~l in ~i~ur~ 3 and ~. ~s illl1strat~d ~ urc ~ composit~
3~ com~risc~ tl~O con~inuous non~lasto~neric ~:ilms 32 ancl 34 havin~
a COI1t:in-lOUS layer 36 oF vapor depositcd metal sand~Yiched ther~et~een. This composit~ is conveniently macle by initially vnI)or d~ositlng thc metal l.Iyer 36 un either lc~yer 32 or 34 of tIIe nonelastol11eric poly~er Film ~nd therea:Ftcr l~in~ting the rcm~ining layer oE nonellsto~eric Eill~ 32 or 3~ to the v~por ! depos:itecl met~ yer. Fig-lre ~ lstrate~ still ~nother !! . .
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l~ ~ ::
s ~ 2'~ L
6~ 28 co~1posi~e ~10 ~hich ca11 he 1lse(1 as ballooJ1 Inatcrial ill the scope o~ tl1e~ sll1)jec~ ventior1. As ShOl~ V.l})C)r ~lCI)ositc'd metal layers ~2 and ~ ale orme~1 on 1)oth sides oE the contin-1ous , nonel.lsto]t1eric polymer filn1 ~6 in the ma11ner dcscribed above.
' ~ny other metal-nc)nelastomeric pol~mcr film composite can be uscd in tl1c scopc oE the subject invention to produce the novel ~alloon cnvelope material so lon~ as the average 1~ei~l1t of the resulting filrn ails 1.~ithin the rang~e of ~rom about 2.6 x lO 4 gm/cm2 to about l~7 x lO 2 gm/cm2.
,I Nol~ reLerring to ~igures 5 through 8~ a process is , li depicted for ma~ing a lay-flat balloon envelope in accordance ,~, ith the subject invention. Figure 5 depicts two juxtapositionecl panels 50 and 52, each made of a composite metal nonelastomeric I ilm in the shape of a fish. In general, panels 50 and 52 can ¦I be cut Erom sheets oE the composite in any conventional manner.
l Tab 54 extcnds ~rom the~ periplleral portions o~ panels 50 and 52 and ~ill serve as a gas filling nozzle. ~s shown in Figure 6, the t~o panels 50 and 52 are sealed together along seal area 1 62 (i.e., the peripheral portions of the tl~o panels~. Purther-¦more~ i desired7 ~hen USin~J hea~ sealable composit~ sheet materials 50 and 52~ the seal 62 can be ormed si~ultaneously hen khe ~lsh S}lape is cut Erom the juxtapQsi~ioned s~1e~ts. It is noted that a filling nipple 6~ .i5 ~ornled from tab 54 by not ~sealing the end portion 66 thereby allol~ing access to the ¦,interlor o,E the seale(1 panels. In acldition, as illus~rated, , ancllor ta~ fi8 is :~ormed by scaling the tlio ~ro-trusions at the j,base of the bo~y and a metal or plastic brad 69 is inserted ¦jthercthrough. The balloon cnvelope ;s,the11 ~illcd ~ith a lighter `
ll ~ 2't~1 f 1~51~;~8 .. . .
' t.]l.~ll Llir ~',IS S-lC]l as hcli~ It .Lbout .ItmO'ill]leriC preSSllrO l)y ;n- ~
sertillV, a hose frorn a l~clium source illtO th~ encl portion 66 oE ;
~, noz~le G~ to form the i~ tcd l~.llloorl 70 cls sho-~n in ~igur~ 7.
, Tllc crld of nozzle G~ is scalcd ,~-t this point cit}lc~r ~ith a heat I scal as ~ep;cte~ as seal SO in ~i~urc S~, altern~tel~-, tlle noz~le ¦
ll 6~ can bc mer~ly cl~r~lped ~:it]l spring cl~ps S2 and/or SL~ or the ', li~e ~s illustrated in Iir~ures Sb alld Sc. It is noted that i~ th~
i inner layer of the tl~o panels 50 and 52 forming the balloon 70 are compatible ~or he~t sealing, then a suitable tool for heat sealing the end portion 66 of nozzle 64 can comprise a resistance heater , and pressure bars ln a pliers li~e device. Alternately, any otl~ r type of lleat seal apparatus can be utilized~ Virtually any type oE common valve seal ~lse~l ~or in~lating conventional plastic toys !
¦ and the like can also be ~Itilized in r)lace oE the ~illing nozz~ ¦
I described above or such seals as adhesive patches and hypoclernlic type scptllnl~ can li~e~Yise be ~Ised. lurthermore, l/ith toy ~alloonst such ~s ~ish 70, a specia~ tether line 72 is preE~rrecl. Tether I line 72 basically coml~rises an elastomeric section 7~ which is interspersed between tlYO non-stretcha~le sections 76 an~l 7~. Ille elastomeric section 7~ ~Yill provlcle a ~o~ncing action ~YIlen the ~
balloon 70 is carried l~y tll~ line 72 ~Yhicll is s:imil~lr in ~eel to ~]l~t e~cp~riencccl ~ en an air buoy~nt e:lastolneric l~alïoon is c:arrie~ :
, on a t~tller :line. :Ct :i~;, oE coursc, ~I.i.thin the scope o:E the sul~-ject Lnventioll to include one or more elastomeric sections within tet?ler line 72 or ;ncl~de a tether line 72 ~Yhich is totally elastG
Il n~eric to l~rovide ~lle "~ouncc" c~ect.
!l The char.lctcristics o springy responses and ~ y to recover ori~inal shale after deEormation, ~hich are normally asso-¦~ ci.atc~ ith elastomeric l)alloons, c.-n also be i~lpartcd to the alloon o~ tlle ~rc~sent ;nvention l~y att.lchin(, to the cnvclopes ¦l thereof one or more sections o~ ela~tic string, ban(l or sheet ¦' Ill:ltCriAl or the li~e in sllch n m~ ller th;lt th~ elast~c In~teri~l :is~ ;
- ~6~8z~
l~evers~ ;trctcllc~(l by i.ll:Elat:ion o.F tllc~ cnve:lol~e, e.g , arl cl~s-tic ban-l miLy be attac}l(d .It cach oE îts cnds to corrcs~onclinT
OpI)OSed pO.illtS Oll t}lC` irlller Sllrf~lCCS O.~ L~o juxtapositione(l lay-:E.l..at l~nels 5~lCll tllat tilC? re1ative motioll oE tlle t~o l)~lnels away from c~ch otiler on inflal:ion causes the b~nd to strctch and tllus crcate ~all(l maillt~ a sli~ht ~ressllre al)ove atmosplleric pressure in t~le cnvelope su.E.Eicient to ~eel~ the peripheral portions of the balloons inElated cven a.Etc-r tl~e loss of some buoyant gas. ~
simil~r e:Efcct can be achieved by placinlT a continuous, at le2st partia~ly elastic band~ around any cxterior portion of the en~e-lope before or after ln~lation, e.g. around the neck or l~aist of a human ~igure balloon. . '~
Ik is noted that various sealing tccllniclues cln be used to seal the compos.ite envelope sheet materi.l.l to :Eorm the balloon envelopes in accorclance ~itll the subject invention. I.E the com-pos.ite ~)~nels arc lleat seal~bl~?, then tlle panels can be heatsealed together in any convent:ional m~nner. ~;or example, a j~w type se~ler using a hot bar or rollers can be used to fabricate the heat seals, or impulse sealers can be used ~hich deliver a controlled impulse of electrical current through a ribbon and the rcs:;stance of the ribbon converts tllis curIent to heat th~ls :Eo~m:in~ ~1 senl.
Altern~te?-ly, ~ hot ~:ire sealer c~n be used wh.ich ~asic~ com-pr:is~s a ll~tinlt ole~mc.~n~ compr.i~:ingl hot l~:i.:ros ~lt:ich are ileated bymeans o electrical current. Other ty~es o~ thermal energy gener-tlng means can be used such as ultrasonic sealing, or se~ling bylight or other :Eorrns o:E r~d.i.lnt cner~y sucll a5 laser energy~ di-electric sealing ~electronic), induction bon~ing, or inrare~
bondin~.. .
~ urtherrnore, othcr me~ns o~ sealin~,~ the cnvelope panels can he ~Itilizecl in the ~co~e of t}le sul)ject invention other th~n }~e.nt se~llin~, sllch ~s .~or c~mple ~clhesi.ve boncling, solvent sc~lin~' e~trucle~l be~d seal-in(!, allcl hot me.Lt sealirl~. lYhen se~:ling .. . .
¦,, ! . , t'i ¦
~ 1~)658Z~3 ~ e~ cral ~ tions oE the co-I~o~itc ~ v~lo~ nels to~letll~r l~itll , aclhe:;ive bonding, an adllesive s~lcll~ls ctl~ylcrle vinyl acetate can j I be applicd to the l~c~ripllcral p~rtions oE t}lc cnvelope m.ltcrial j! SIICII as tllrougll ,.one coatilllT o. ~hese materia'ls ~i.c., t]lc ~)rint~
," in~ ~)rcss met:llod). E~all!l)lcs oE ot}ler met]lods oE applyillg such ;~ ad~ed se(llant are ~y ~(ldin~l strips o~ a scalintTrrlatcri~al bet-Jeen - !~ thc,~ t~o ilms to l~e sealed at the sealing ed~es; extruding a flat li strip of sealing r;laterial on the secalin~ cdge; extruding ~ string ¦¦ of sealin~, ma~erial on the sc~ling edge; and adding a strin(r of sealing material bet~Yeen t]le t~ro films to be sealed at the sealing~
~ edges. ,~
j , VaTious shaped balloon envelopes can be made in the ¦ scope oE the subject invention. ~ome simpl~r sllapes ~reillustratec , ¦ in Fi~Tures 9 through 13.
Figure 9 illustrates a tllree sided seal pouch ~0 ~hich asically comprises a sin~rle ~iecc o:E the composite envelope m~- :
teri~l :Eolcle~ at edge 92 to ~orm t~lo ju~tapositioned panels which are tllen sealed face to ace alon(l seal area 94 on the two ends ¦ and side as illustrated, As sllo~n~ the nonsealed space or gap 96 forms a gas inlet ~or cnvelop~ 90 and can be sealed ater tlle en~, I velope is :Eilled Irith a lic~ ter than air gas by arly tcchnique set ¦ Eortl~.lbov~. ~lternately, ~ tab call be :Fc)rm~l on ~he slleets to ~:
ll orm ~ no7.zle arran~ement sucll as sho~Yn in Pi~ures S~.hrou~ 8. Th~
I three seal po~lch can be easily manuEactured from a single IYeb of ~:
mater:i.cll. The s:ingle ~le~h can l)e clra~m over a triangul~r sh~ped r~cl:l~cl .aTId :Eo:lcle~l into a V-shape ancd then the he~t seals can be m;lde usin~ crirnping rollers for the s:idc seal and ro-tary crimpja~
for t})~ en(l s~als in .I cont:i.nuous motion.
:igure 10 illustrates anotller s;.lnple cn~relope shap~ l~hicl can l)e lnacle in the scope Or the suhject invention. As sho~n, cn~
i vclope 100 is form~d frorn t~o juxta~os;t.ion~l sh~et:s ~hich are ..
-: I se.ll~d on all cn-ls ;3ncl siclcs facc to ~acc c~cept for .~illing (~p :
,7 :
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~ JXL
~5165828 102, as illllst:r;ltC(~ OIIC1I lt)0 C~'lll i)'` Ill.l~lC 1)~' S~ Lling tl~'O ~iL`~S ¦ ~ ~
o.C matel:i.al at bot}l s:icl~s .IIld cn(ls facc to facc usintT crimping rollers or the si.cle seal an~ rotar~ crimp jal~s or the ~nd seals .
in a contin-lous m~-tion.
it~urc 11 il:Lustrates an cn-~e]ope 110 in the ~orm of a I
pillo~ ~OUC]I l~hic]l can he ln.lde Erom a tubulcar formed poucll ~ith a lap 112 sealad togetller and the ellds 1l~ sealed together. In this instance, the fi:llinp gap 116 remains in tl-e pouch as il~ustrated and discussed above in relat~oll to Figures 9 and 10. The pillow pouch can be made from a single lieb o matcrial l.Thich is shownove the Eorming guide and around a tube. A in or lap body heat seal :.
is made and the material is advanced ~y a belting action or by the end hea-t sealing ja~ls m~l;ing the end seals and simultaneously cut-ting of~ the tubin~ in a continuous proccss.
In li~e manner, l~igure 12 illustrates a tetrahedral pouch 120 nlade :Ero~ a tu~e of the envelope matcrial~ In the tetr~
hedr~a1 pouch, a lap or facc to ace body seal and ~aee to ace end seals at 90 to each other are Eormed as illustrated as seals 122 in Fi~ure 12. The tube can be pre:EoTmed or ormed in the process of forming the tetrahedral pouc~. For example, a ~eb material can be dra~n over a ~orm;ng~ guide and aroulld a meta:l tube~ Th~ body`' he~t seal is made ~nd the :Eilm is advanced by ~;Ith~r th~ end heat seali~ j.aws or b~ lt:ing act.i.on. Tlla cross end sea:ls are made alternately in a 90 angle to t}-e prececling cross heat seal. ~gai~
the ~ i.ng gap 12~ reJnains as illustrated in the pouch. Anothar si~ple envelope is :il:lu~trated in Figure 13 as a gusset pouch. Thi.
is made very similar to the envelo~e o ~igure 9 e~cept a old or gusset 13Z is made in the pouch be~ore seal 13~ and fillin~ gap 136 are :Eormed.
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:LIi Idd.il:.iorl to tlle simp~ sl~ es9 mote cornple~c s~laped bal:loon~ can ~e r,lacle :i.n tlle sco~)e o.~ ~lle sul)j Cct invention such as i~ str.lted i.n l:igure 1~. A 1)ott:le sllape(l ~alloon rl2(le in . .
, accordclrlce ~lith the sul)ject invellt:i.oll :is sho~v~ igur~
i Ihe balloon l~n is m~de ~ :ive se~ar~t~ p..Lnels of co~posite I. matelial. ~s s]lol~n, the necl~ oE bott:le 1~0 is made Erom t~o -~
.;
' pallelS 1~2 ~]liCh are sealed togetller along peripheral portions . ..
thereo at areas 1~. The ~ase of panels 1~2 are sealed to a .
circular panel 1~6 at seal areas 14~. The circular panel 146 ¦ .
cncloses tlle top oi cylindrical shaped panel 150 at seal areas 152~ Cylindrical shaped panel 150 is made :Erom a single piece`~
oE composite en~elope materia:l sealed l~i-th an overlap seal at seal area 154. ~he base o:~ bo-ttle 1~0 comprises another I circ~llar panel l~rG ~.ith an at-tachnlellt tal~ Eor attaclling ¦ a tetll~r line thvreto. Colnplex shclpes such as bottle 1~0 c~n ¦ be usetl not on:Ly as toys but also in advcrtising and lYill be ! mailltclined buoyant ~OT an inde:-inite period o:E time. lhus, :
¦ various sizes ancl shapes of air buoyantl~alloonscan be made -:
I in the scope o:E the subject i.nvention ~ith tlle me~ta:l-nunel~sto-¦meric polymer cornposlte enve:lol)e m~lker:la:l~ Ik is only necessary tlla~. the none~astomer:;c polymer l~ ve~ a conkilluo~ls coat:ing ¦me~ta:L or a layeI o.E m~ta.l :laminat.ed t.herol:o o.r tllerew:ltll:in~ .:tholl~h SllCIl compos:ite ~laterials axe geller.llly used in the lcay-':Elat condition,. t]ley can typically be :Eormed into c~l:rved or dished 'sections hav:ing él ma~.lmum depth o.E about 50% o:E the panel s.ize usinC~ vac-ltlm or mecllanical dies l~ithout hctrm to the metal l~Lyer.
Tlle envelor)e ClTI ]lave an in ternal voll~nle up to al)o~lt 20 cu. ft, ~.
and l1aVe ~I ratio oE :its vo]alli)e taken to the t~o-thirsls pol~er to I
I .
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l ':
651~2~3 its sur~ace ar~c.- in tllt: l~all~c rrom al)ollt 0.21 to about 0.0l ~ and an avcrage cn~elo~ eip,ht ill thc r.~ e o~ florn ~bout ! 2.fi x 10 ~ ~m/cm2 to al)out 1.7 x 10 2 ~In/cm . ~ll suc!l balloons a~e a buoyclnt li~ scvcral ti~e5 greclter than conv~ntional a;r buoyallt ~alloons Or coml)~ra'L~le`size, 'Ille uscful l)uoy~nt ~ ctime can be variecl l~itll the c}loiee o~ ellvelope mater;als ¦ ~}liCll are used in the scope of the subject invention and can be 1~ easily de-termined from simple calculat:io~ urthe-rmore, in ¦l relation to the envelope l~eight, the minimum ~Jei~ht o:E the ', nonelastorneric polymer ~]-ich is used in all balloons is , Z.4 x 10 4 gm/cm2 ~.9 x 10 4 lbs./t.2). Generally7 more -¦ polymer can ~e utilized in the envelopes ~Yhich are made ~:ith ; the vapor deposited metals. For cxample, the maximum ~eight of polymer l~hich can be used in envelopes ~hi ch carry at least a layer oE ~apor dcpositecl metal is about 1.7 x 10 2 gm/cm2 (3.5 x 10 2 lhs./~t.2). Furtllermore~ the maximum ~e;ght o polymer in rolled metal laminate ba:lloon envelopes made in tlle scope o the subject invention is about 1.65 x 10 2 gm/cm2 i ~3.4 x 10 2 lbs./:Et. ). In ~orking ~ith ~nvelopes ca~rying tl~e ¦ vc~por deposited metal in general, the min:imllm total cnvelape ! weight is 2.G x 10 ~ gm/cm2 (5.3 x 10 ~ lbs./.Et.2). Lil;e~ise~
hc,~n l~orl;ir,~ .itll tlle metal :lam.irlltes }laV3.llg a thi,n sh~e~ o~
¦ meta:L larninated to the nonelastomeric polymer~ tlle rninimum ¦ envelope ~eLght is about 2.3 x 10 3 gm/cm2 ~.7 x 10 3 lbs./ft.~.
¦~ In gerleral, the speci~ic envc:lope matc,~ri~l can be tailorcd :Eor I' any specific sh.lp~ to obtain tlle desired buoyant lifetime by ¦l simp1e calcu:lation 11' .
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I ~", ~.<: i, j 1~65~2~ I:
j' ~ 01; .In~' s(!t o.~. sirlil~lr t~ ].OOllS, tllC .~ollo~i ~' geOr.le tl`:i.C re~ iOl~sll:ip~:i e~ t.
~t (1) S _ Bl)2 .
. . ':' I ~2) VO = CV3 i, (3) S = H~;o2/3 , I, . ;~
~ herein D = scaLe sl~e for any ~lalloon o~ given I' geometric configruration , !j S = sur.Eace area of the envelope ¦
~'0 = initial volume o the ~ully in~lated I envelope .:
¦ B, C and ~ are constants independ~nt of size.~ :
, for any given geometric co:n:Eigurc-Ltioll. ~
~ . ~
Because Tncllly balloons are difEicult to de~:ine ' geo-netrically, iL i9 seneralLy convenl~nt to choose the total :.
¦ thickn~ss, r of the ~o.Lymer layers o:~ the envelope as the scaLe sizc (D) .; .
Thus let: r = D
Then ~rom equations (1), (2) and (3) .
.~,., ~ Brr2 : . I~5) Vc~ r3 1 2/3 Br . ...
l~ er~ Br and Cr ~rc ide~ntical respectively to B and C ~or the particuLar case ~here r = D.
2 ~ '3 l l ~ .
~ ;58~
using tlICsC ` CCjU~:iO115, var.ious v-,llues oE ~ Call I)C
calc~llated for any given shape. I~or c~mE)le~ ~ v~lues Eor typ:ica ~h;L~e~s are set :Eorth ir-~ l'a~le 1 ~clo~:
" .
' Tablc proY~im~tc ~ Values 1~ 2~: i ]I~,p,e 'llleta ;i~ s j Cuhe 6.0 ~ 0.17 Sphere ~ ~.84 ~ 0.21 j Lay-~lat squ~re ~,5.5 ~ 0.18 Human shape ~ lO.0 ~ 0.10 Rect~ngular parallelcpiped ~30x30xl) ~20.6 ~ O.OS
Tetrahedron ~ 7.2 ~ 0.l4 Cylinder (len~th = 10, diam. = 1) ~ 8.35 ~ 0.12 ~ .In deternlinin~ the buoyant li:Eetime ~TL) of balloons ¦ made ~ith the cornposite envelopes of the su~ject invention, the rate of diffusion ~-dd-lV;) o:f the liEt gas from inside tl~e nonexten-sible envelope is given by the equation:
~7) clV _ FP~ * 'i' ~here: P -- permeability const~nt characteristic oE
th~ polymer materia'l or comb~ at:lon oE
po:1.ym~* matcrials and th~ lit g-lS ChOSCII
T - elapsed time sincc in:Elation T = total thic~iness o~ the po'L~ner layer or layers o:E the envelope m~terial*
V = volume o liEt gas at time T~V=Vo at T=O) , F = effect.ive fraction o-E the envelope surface not contiguously bonde-l to a met~l layer ~The rclative'ly lninor areas o overlapp:ing or buttcd seals are neglectcd in t}lese c(luations. ::
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I' " 13~
';' i;,. : , 1' ~ 658213 c ~ C i ~r~l t ( cl~J~ r(l I o ~c c 1,1) o c a ~ o oll cllvc ~ ) e i ~ i V~
, by tht~ e(lua~ion: i ( ~ P r r .S ~ p 1I r 11 ~; ~' . . -~' .~,.
!~ ~ herc p~ ~ver~,e c1ensity'of tlle env'elope polymer , ' . ' matcri.~ls ~ '.
I p~ = dcnsity o.~ metal I T = total avera~e t}1ic~ness o tl1e metal ~ layer or l~yers !l *The rclati1~~ely ~inor areas of overl~pp;ng or butted seals : I are neglect~d in these e~uations, : I The gross li~ing ~orce, U, of the gas in the ~alloon is given by the equation:
(9) U = V (p air - p ~7as) = V (~p) ~, . 1~here: p ~ir = density of ~1ir p gas = dt-~nsity o~ t ~,~s in the ~nve:lope ~p - p air - p ~-s . .
The n~t ll~ting -forcc (L) is o~tained by co~nbining ¦ e~1u~tio-1s (~) ~nd (9) to give:
tl) I. = U - 1~ = V(~p) - pErS - p~r~S
lt~t: Ll - r, the~rl -the :Eo:llo~.i.n~ e~ ation c~n ~t~ .
c1e:r~vt~1 I)y coml~ g e~lu~ltions (5), ¦ tfi) ancl (:lO): , L ~ V(~P) -P~,~ c-173 P~ ~
, r ;:
ferentiat,ion o:E (ll) ~ith rcspect tt) time yields:
¦ ~
'~ ' 11 . . .' i ' 3 - 2 ~
,_ ~ ..
11D6S~3Z8 ~12) (ll~ p) cil;
Si.nce D = r, coml)illin~ e~luations (5), ((), (7) and (12) yields:
(1~) (ll. = - (l~p) ~ crl/3vOl/3~l~r . .
en T - O, L = Lo and l~hen '1 = TL (buoyant li~etime), L = O.
Th~ls integration o C(~UatiOIl (13) and algebraic rearran~ement "I ~ives: . .
) TL pp~ ~ ~T~Ap~
! l~Jhen L = Lo~ V = VO. Thus substitu-tion o:f equation ~11) into e~uation (14) gives: .
¦ , V 2/3 [(~p) ~ -:~T~ ~ 1/3 ~S) ~L = ~~~ - -L7~~~ ~ ~ -In tile particular pre:Eerred case o t}-inly v~por deposited metal composi.te envelopes the value oE r~ may ~e assumed to be a vanishin~Ly smal:l cons-tant ~ith -the Tes~llt that e~uation ~L~ can be ~ritten in the .Eorm o-E the simpler appro.x:Lmate ¦
equation ~16).
2/3 ~(~p) ~ ~`
(16) TL ~ FP~C' r~t~p) Furthermore, if r~ is constant then I~ is also constant; thus equation ~16) S}lowS that otherl~ise geometrically sim:ilar balloons h~vin~ idellt:ical vnpor deposited metaLlic layers ~nd mad~ from ..
¦identical ma-teria:Ls h,lve, under identic~l conditions~ liEetimes ~hich are proportional to the 2/3 po~er o:E the initial ~olume.
Under these restrict.ions, three cons-tants, ~1~ h2 ~nd K3, can be dc.E:ined hy the ollol~:in~ e~ .ltions :' :' !
! ~
~, I . . `':
! l ~L~6~8Z8 3 Pr (L\~)-c-:tr~
] 1 c r c ~ r Cr' / ~ p) I , il ~nd Erom com~ in~T (17) all~
' ~ .: ' .
) Il ~ K2S I}lerc ~2 = ~1 _ ,~ and from combining (~) alld ~
~19) Tl ~ ~3r2 ~here ~3 = K2Br ISince all scale di~ensions of similar balloons are proportiona ¦(19) can also be l~ritten as:
(20) r~ v2 ~rhere D is any de~inab:Le sca:le si~e ~e.g., diameter) and is a constaTIt ~or any ~:iven bal:loon geometry and composi~îon llnder standard conditi.ons.
Equation (15) may be used to calculatc the buoyant li~etilne o.E any balloon havillg a meta:l;lic layer in the eIIvelope~
Any o:E t-~tluatiorls ~16) t]lrou~,]l (20? m.~y be similarly app:i:ied to `
the spec.i:Fic c~se ~hert? t.he metal layer .Is a ver~ th~n vapor de~pos.ited m.~terlal.
I:urt]ler~ore, l~a~ed on e~iuation (6), the minimum volumc ~nd minimum sur:~ace area :Eor any ~art.icular sha~)e oE . :
~al:loorl crln recad:ily ~)e (ler:ived as ~ :Function of TL as is shown ~n elluntions (21) nnd (22) ~elo~
c2 5 ., 11 1 .
.11 . ' 1, ..
3~; 58 :, t~ o~mi~ ) tl ~ l~r ) ] , I
. - ' I .
' (22) S(ln~ p ¦ ~Y~Iere E = l~ei~ per unit ~rea o:E envelope rate oE buoyancy loss per unit area of .
, envelope I
Balloons o~ v~rious shapes r~ade in the scope oE the li subject invention c~n h~ve extre~ely long buoyallt liEetimes, i.e., a y~ar or more. A comparison of the minimum volumes Eor.- :, ¦I various shaped balloons having a one year buoyant llfetim~ (~L) ¦~hich ccln be made in the s~ ject invention llith 0.Z5 mil polyes~cr as the nonelastomeric polymer :in the cornposit~ combined ~:ith ~ oth sheot aluminul~ an(l vapor d~posite(l aluminulll in the composite~
jrespect:iv~ly~ is sho~n :in T.Lble 2 b~lo~:
T~ble 2 . -_ :
Comparison o:E Rolled Aluminum (0.17 mil) and V~por D~posited . Alurn;num on the Minlmum Volume ~Ft3) o:E 13alloons IY:it]l One- .~ :
: ~ar Blloy~nt LiEetlm~s,~l) 6 :l0 20.6 : ..
~nvelopc~ , ~lateri~l -. I ~ , :':
. '0.-17 mil ro]..led AL l 0.2S m.ll VITlin ~ 0.05.l 0.09~ 0.45 3.96 coclt~d poly~.st~r - .
I ~
j4 x 10 3mil v~por deposi ted Al . .
-~ 0,25 mil co~lted V = 0.0070 Q.0134 0.062 0.542 . 1 polyester rnln :-:
c~ ' I '' 2 'J ~
, , )65~ 8 'I<~ 3 .is l~rcc,~ tc(l t~ O~i Co~ ri~ c).E S~V~I<
matcL :ials s-l:iZ:al~le :~or usc in tlle const:r~lc~ of }le~ .lm .~il1ed I ~,a~ loolls, ~ n tll~ s~o~ O r t]~ clltioll, in t~l~ si~,c ~ange . .
of 0. 2r. to 2 cu. ft ., C.IClI h~lV;.n~r a t~ .iclll sllal)e factor o~ i I
. ~3 = 10. ~ :~.
'I]le opti~u~ ellvelope l~eig]lt is liste(l as tllat corrc-I s~ond;.ng to U/l~ = 2 because tllis generally corresponds to the ,' ~heoretic~l optim~ value for all poly~er balloons~ The entries for U/~ = 1 (neutr21 buoyancy) are included because substantially ! `~
i neutrally buoyar- including slightly ne~atively buoyank ~alloons ¦ are suitable ~or toys or advertising devices ~hich depend on ;
rising air currents, e.g., tllose over a heat source, for ¦ buoyallcy an~l SUC]l balloons can be made in the scope oE the suhje t invention.
. . , . ' 1.' , , , .
11 ' .
.
I
, ' ,' 1, ~ !
Il l ,~ 2')~1 1 ! 1 ~6~8z8 --,;
; 'l'lll~ 3 ~omp.lrisoll of ~la-tcria1s l;or 'I}lc (:onlitruction of llelium Ba1100lls (~ = 10) in the Siz.c l~,lng~ 0.25 - 2.0 ~t.3 ~'OLU
'; 0.25_ 0.50 1.0 2 0 1 ? --- ~ I
!SurE~lce ~r~a (~`t ) 3.97 6.30 10.0 15,9 ¦ _ _ _ (c~n ) _ _3?6~ n ? S50 9,290_ _ 14,700 Optimum Envelope lYt(gm) ~U/l'l =2) 3.5~ 7.()~ 1~.2 ~.3 " ~
~ aximum ~nve10pe ~it ~gm) () ,(U/~ = 1) 7.0~ 14.2 28.3 56.6 _ tOptimum Envelope ~It per Unit ~rea (~m/c12) 9 59~10 4 _1.2 xlO 3 1.52x10 3 1.92x10 3_ ~laximum ~nve10pe ~t ¦per Unit ~rea ~gm/cm2) 1.92x10 3 2.~2~10 3 3.05x:lO 3 3.83x10 3 _~ .~
¦l~Jeigh-t Range per Unit l~rea oE Typical 1/~ mi1 5~97-8.89~10 Po:lym~r 1 rn:il 2.39-3.56x10 3 - -- ---- ----.--Fi1ms ~gm/cTn2) 1/Z mil 1.19-1.7S~:lO 3 _ .
llreigh~ o~ Rol1ed ¦~luminum per ~.17mi1 l. 17x10 ¦Uni-t ~rea (gm/cm ) 0.35mil 2.~n~10 3 ~ ~~
.. , .. ~ _ ..
¦Typica1 ~vg. Weight ¦o V~por Deposited 2.l~0 5 - - - - - -----------~ minllm p~r Unit I~ r ~ crl (l!~m/ c~
In general, dcsp;te the prcsence of numerous origina1 p~nholos in the~ m~tal layc:rs and a Ear greater number oE holes or issures arising from assemb1y alld h~nd1ing, it has been fo-lnd that continuous1y bond~d 1am:Lnates mad~ of 0.3S mi1 ro11ed a1uminum .11 ~ ' .
111 , ', Il .
ll :~ ' . f 6s8~8 . foil atld llo:Lyo.].cLill Li:Lm (I~ LL~ 1..25 to 3.25 mils) .sllo~
~lloy.nc~ lo~s ra~e (I>) o.E Lcss tlla~l ().0~ ~raln; I-er year per ; I s(l. ~t. or 2.2 ~ lO 5 ~rarns per yeLr pcr cm2. Some typi.cal bllloons oC tl~e su~ject in~cll-ioll r.lade ~:ith compo(;itc pancl ~ matcr.i<~ls ~ tllrou(l~ E: set ~orth in rablc ~ belo-~ I~ere made ~nd i coml)arcd ~to ~ ~all.oon ma(le ~ h c:oml)oji.tc lamillate matcrial i]~ Tablc 5 ~elo;i l~llich is not made in the scope of the subject ~iinven tiOIl: -1, I Table ~
I Descri~.ion Of Film Samples ~:or Heiium Permeat.ion !o. ' ._Descri,~_n_ Thic!;ness (mil) - 3/~ mil polypropylene / 1/2 mil polyethylene / .0~035 aluTninum / 3.6 2 mils polyetllylene IB - ~letallized (i~luminu~) poLyester ¦ 1/2 mil / 1-1/2 Tnils po:LyoleEill 2.0 IC - Slran ca~tel metalli cd (Alumin~lm) po:lyeste~r 1/2 mil / 1-1/2 mi:ls 2.0 polyo:Le~in D - ~letallized (.~luminllm.) polyester 1/2 mil / 2 mils polyethylene ~Z.S
E - ~etall:ize~ (Aluminum) polyeste:r 1/2 mil (2 s:ides) / 1 mil polyetlly:lelle .l.5 P - Sa.ran coated Poly~ste:r l/Z m:il /
1 m:il saran :1.5 I .I Balloons made ~i.th the above colposite panel mateTials ¦we~e :E.illed with ]lel:lum and monitored :Eor helium perme.ltiorl.
. Tlle h~ TI l~ermeations m~ls(lred in ~rain~ o.E bloy.lncy lost per 1000 s~l. i.n. of :Eilm are set :Eorth in Table 5 belo-~:
!1 I' . .' 1,1 ' I''' ~ '.
Il . ' .
658Z~ !
~ ., ~ J.~ S
! j :
~e.l~ m l'cr~e~lbili~ 'I`est Rcsults No. ~le].iu~ erliieation *
A 0.2 3.~
. . C 7.0 , D 6.~ .
1l E 1.1 .
¦1, F 9Q.0 *Helium Permeation -- buoyancy loss in grams per 1~00 square I inches o:E envelope matcrial per year. ~:
I . , ' ~ ' As can be readily seen, the ~lloons made in accorcl~ncc ~ith the subject invention are substan-.;ally imperme~b:Le and there:Eore romain ~uoyant over an e~xtellded period o~ time as comp~red l~.ith t:he balloons made ~i.th the composite materi.Ll ~.
hile thi~ invention has been described in relation to its prefcrred embodimentl it is to be unders-tood that various modiflcat:Lons theTeo:E will no-~ be apparen-t to one s~illed in the .:
art upon reading the speciEication and it is intended to cover such mod:l:E.ications as :Eal l l~ithin the scope of the appended claims . . ., !
I claim. ~ ~ ¦
', ', . ~' ', . ! .
3~
; l .. .
1 .. : :
a COI1t:in-lOUS layer 36 oF vapor depositcd metal sand~Yiched ther~et~een. This composit~ is conveniently macle by initially vnI)or d~ositlng thc metal l.Iyer 36 un either lc~yer 32 or 34 of tIIe nonelastol11eric poly~er Film ~nd therea:Ftcr l~in~ting the rcm~ining layer oE nonellsto~eric Eill~ 32 or 3~ to the v~por ! depos:itecl met~ yer. Fig-lre ~ lstrate~ still ~nother !! . .
' ~3 .i . ' :.
l~ ~ ::
s ~ 2'~ L
6~ 28 co~1posi~e ~10 ~hich ca11 he 1lse(1 as ballooJ1 Inatcrial ill the scope o~ tl1e~ sll1)jec~ ventior1. As ShOl~ V.l})C)r ~lCI)ositc'd metal layers ~2 and ~ ale orme~1 on 1)oth sides oE the contin-1ous , nonel.lsto]t1eric polymer filn1 ~6 in the ma11ner dcscribed above.
' ~ny other metal-nc)nelastomeric pol~mcr film composite can be uscd in tl1c scopc oE the subject invention to produce the novel ~alloon cnvelope material so lon~ as the average 1~ei~l1t of the resulting filrn ails 1.~ithin the rang~e of ~rom about 2.6 x lO 4 gm/cm2 to about l~7 x lO 2 gm/cm2.
,I Nol~ reLerring to ~igures 5 through 8~ a process is , li depicted for ma~ing a lay-flat balloon envelope in accordance ,~, ith the subject invention. Figure 5 depicts two juxtapositionecl panels 50 and 52, each made of a composite metal nonelastomeric I ilm in the shape of a fish. In general, panels 50 and 52 can ¦I be cut Erom sheets oE the composite in any conventional manner.
l Tab 54 extcnds ~rom the~ periplleral portions o~ panels 50 and 52 and ~ill serve as a gas filling nozzle. ~s shown in Figure 6, the t~o panels 50 and 52 are sealed together along seal area 1 62 (i.e., the peripheral portions of the tl~o panels~. Purther-¦more~ i desired7 ~hen USin~J hea~ sealable composit~ sheet materials 50 and 52~ the seal 62 can be ormed si~ultaneously hen khe ~lsh S}lape is cut Erom the juxtapQsi~ioned s~1e~ts. It is noted that a filling nipple 6~ .i5 ~ornled from tab 54 by not ~sealing the end portion 66 thereby allol~ing access to the ¦,interlor o,E the seale(1 panels. In acldition, as illus~rated, , ancllor ta~ fi8 is :~ormed by scaling the tlio ~ro-trusions at the j,base of the bo~y and a metal or plastic brad 69 is inserted ¦jthercthrough. The balloon cnvelope ;s,the11 ~illcd ~ith a lighter `
ll ~ 2't~1 f 1~51~;~8 .. . .
' t.]l.~ll Llir ~',IS S-lC]l as hcli~ It .Lbout .ItmO'ill]leriC preSSllrO l)y ;n- ~
sertillV, a hose frorn a l~clium source illtO th~ encl portion 66 oE ;
~, noz~le G~ to form the i~ tcd l~.llloorl 70 cls sho-~n in ~igur~ 7.
, Tllc crld of nozzle G~ is scalcd ,~-t this point cit}lc~r ~ith a heat I scal as ~ep;cte~ as seal SO in ~i~urc S~, altern~tel~-, tlle noz~le ¦
ll 6~ can bc mer~ly cl~r~lped ~:it]l spring cl~ps S2 and/or SL~ or the ', li~e ~s illustrated in Iir~ures Sb alld Sc. It is noted that i~ th~
i inner layer of the tl~o panels 50 and 52 forming the balloon 70 are compatible ~or he~t sealing, then a suitable tool for heat sealing the end portion 66 of nozzle 64 can comprise a resistance heater , and pressure bars ln a pliers li~e device. Alternately, any otl~ r type of lleat seal apparatus can be utilized~ Virtually any type oE common valve seal ~lse~l ~or in~lating conventional plastic toys !
¦ and the like can also be ~Itilized in r)lace oE the ~illing nozz~ ¦
I described above or such seals as adhesive patches and hypoclernlic type scptllnl~ can li~e~Yise be ~Ised. lurthermore, l/ith toy ~alloonst such ~s ~ish 70, a specia~ tether line 72 is preE~rrecl. Tether I line 72 basically coml~rises an elastomeric section 7~ which is interspersed between tlYO non-stretcha~le sections 76 an~l 7~. Ille elastomeric section 7~ ~Yill provlcle a ~o~ncing action ~YIlen the ~
balloon 70 is carried l~y tll~ line 72 ~Yhicll is s:imil~lr in ~eel to ~]l~t e~cp~riencccl ~ en an air buoy~nt e:lastolneric l~alïoon is c:arrie~ :
, on a t~tller :line. :Ct :i~;, oE coursc, ~I.i.thin the scope o:E the sul~-ject Lnventioll to include one or more elastomeric sections within tet?ler line 72 or ;ncl~de a tether line 72 ~Yhich is totally elastG
Il n~eric to l~rovide ~lle "~ouncc" c~ect.
!l The char.lctcristics o springy responses and ~ y to recover ori~inal shale after deEormation, ~hich are normally asso-¦~ ci.atc~ ith elastomeric l)alloons, c.-n also be i~lpartcd to the alloon o~ tlle ~rc~sent ;nvention l~y att.lchin(, to the cnvclopes ¦l thereof one or more sections o~ ela~tic string, ban(l or sheet ¦' Ill:ltCriAl or the li~e in sllch n m~ ller th;lt th~ elast~c In~teri~l :is~ ;
- ~6~8z~
l~evers~ ;trctcllc~(l by i.ll:Elat:ion o.F tllc~ cnve:lol~e, e.g , arl cl~s-tic ban-l miLy be attac}l(d .It cach oE îts cnds to corrcs~onclinT
OpI)OSed pO.illtS Oll t}lC` irlller Sllrf~lCCS O.~ L~o juxtapositione(l lay-:E.l..at l~nels 5~lCll tllat tilC? re1ative motioll oE tlle t~o l)~lnels away from c~ch otiler on inflal:ion causes the b~nd to strctch and tllus crcate ~all(l maillt~ a sli~ht ~ressllre al)ove atmosplleric pressure in t~le cnvelope su.E.Eicient to ~eel~ the peripheral portions of the balloons inElated cven a.Etc-r tl~e loss of some buoyant gas. ~
simil~r e:Efcct can be achieved by placinlT a continuous, at le2st partia~ly elastic band~ around any cxterior portion of the en~e-lope before or after ln~lation, e.g. around the neck or l~aist of a human ~igure balloon. . '~
Ik is noted that various sealing tccllniclues cln be used to seal the compos.ite envelope sheet materi.l.l to :Eorm the balloon envelopes in accorclance ~itll the subject invention. I.E the com-pos.ite ~)~nels arc lleat seal~bl~?, then tlle panels can be heatsealed together in any convent:ional m~nner. ~;or example, a j~w type se~ler using a hot bar or rollers can be used to fabricate the heat seals, or impulse sealers can be used ~hich deliver a controlled impulse of electrical current through a ribbon and the rcs:;stance of the ribbon converts tllis curIent to heat th~ls :Eo~m:in~ ~1 senl.
Altern~te?-ly, ~ hot ~:ire sealer c~n be used wh.ich ~asic~ com-pr:is~s a ll~tinlt ole~mc.~n~ compr.i~:ingl hot l~:i.:ros ~lt:ich are ileated bymeans o electrical current. Other ty~es o~ thermal energy gener-tlng means can be used such as ultrasonic sealing, or se~ling bylight or other :Eorrns o:E r~d.i.lnt cner~y sucll a5 laser energy~ di-electric sealing ~electronic), induction bon~ing, or inrare~
bondin~.. .
~ urtherrnore, othcr me~ns o~ sealin~,~ the cnvelope panels can he ~Itilizecl in the ~co~e of t}le sul)ject invention other th~n }~e.nt se~llin~, sllch ~s .~or c~mple ~clhesi.ve boncling, solvent sc~lin~' e~trucle~l be~d seal-in(!, allcl hot me.Lt sealirl~. lYhen se~:ling .. . .
¦,, ! . , t'i ¦
~ 1~)658Z~3 ~ e~ cral ~ tions oE the co-I~o~itc ~ v~lo~ nels to~letll~r l~itll , aclhe:;ive bonding, an adllesive s~lcll~ls ctl~ylcrle vinyl acetate can j I be applicd to the l~c~ripllcral p~rtions oE t}lc cnvelope m.ltcrial j! SIICII as tllrougll ,.one coatilllT o. ~hese materia'ls ~i.c., t]lc ~)rint~
," in~ ~)rcss met:llod). E~all!l)lcs oE ot}ler met]lods oE applyillg such ;~ ad~ed se(llant are ~y ~(ldin~l strips o~ a scalintTrrlatcri~al bet-Jeen - !~ thc,~ t~o ilms to l~e sealed at the sealing ed~es; extruding a flat li strip of sealing r;laterial on the secalin~ cdge; extruding ~ string ¦¦ of sealin~, ma~erial on the sc~ling edge; and adding a strin(r of sealing material bet~Yeen t]le t~ro films to be sealed at the sealing~
~ edges. ,~
j , VaTious shaped balloon envelopes can be made in the ¦ scope oE the subject invention. ~ome simpl~r sllapes ~reillustratec , ¦ in Fi~Tures 9 through 13.
Figure 9 illustrates a tllree sided seal pouch ~0 ~hich asically comprises a sin~rle ~iecc o:E the composite envelope m~- :
teri~l :Eolcle~ at edge 92 to ~orm t~lo ju~tapositioned panels which are tllen sealed face to ace alon(l seal area 94 on the two ends ¦ and side as illustrated, As sllo~n~ the nonsealed space or gap 96 forms a gas inlet ~or cnvelop~ 90 and can be sealed ater tlle en~, I velope is :Eilled Irith a lic~ ter than air gas by arly tcchnique set ¦ Eortl~.lbov~. ~lternately, ~ tab call be :Fc)rm~l on ~he slleets to ~:
ll orm ~ no7.zle arran~ement sucll as sho~Yn in Pi~ures S~.hrou~ 8. Th~
I three seal po~lch can be easily manuEactured from a single IYeb of ~:
mater:i.cll. The s:ingle ~le~h can l)e clra~m over a triangul~r sh~ped r~cl:l~cl .aTId :Eo:lcle~l into a V-shape ancd then the he~t seals can be m;lde usin~ crirnping rollers for the s:idc seal and ro-tary crimpja~
for t})~ en(l s~als in .I cont:i.nuous motion.
:igure 10 illustrates anotller s;.lnple cn~relope shap~ l~hicl can l)e lnacle in the scope Or the suhject invention. As sho~n, cn~
i vclope 100 is form~d frorn t~o juxta~os;t.ion~l sh~et:s ~hich are ..
-: I se.ll~d on all cn-ls ;3ncl siclcs facc to ~acc c~cept for .~illing (~p :
,7 :
! I
~ JXL
~5165828 102, as illllst:r;ltC(~ OIIC1I lt)0 C~'lll i)'` Ill.l~lC 1)~' S~ Lling tl~'O ~iL`~S ¦ ~ ~
o.C matel:i.al at bot}l s:icl~s .IIld cn(ls facc to facc usintT crimping rollers or the si.cle seal an~ rotar~ crimp jal~s or the ~nd seals .
in a contin-lous m~-tion.
it~urc 11 il:Lustrates an cn-~e]ope 110 in the ~orm of a I
pillo~ ~OUC]I l~hic]l can he ln.lde Erom a tubulcar formed poucll ~ith a lap 112 sealad togetller and the ellds 1l~ sealed together. In this instance, the fi:llinp gap 116 remains in tl-e pouch as il~ustrated and discussed above in relat~oll to Figures 9 and 10. The pillow pouch can be made from a single lieb o matcrial l.Thich is shownove the Eorming guide and around a tube. A in or lap body heat seal :.
is made and the material is advanced ~y a belting action or by the end hea-t sealing ja~ls m~l;ing the end seals and simultaneously cut-ting of~ the tubin~ in a continuous proccss.
In li~e manner, l~igure 12 illustrates a tetrahedral pouch 120 nlade :Ero~ a tu~e of the envelope matcrial~ In the tetr~
hedr~a1 pouch, a lap or facc to ace body seal and ~aee to ace end seals at 90 to each other are Eormed as illustrated as seals 122 in Fi~ure 12. The tube can be pre:EoTmed or ormed in the process of forming the tetrahedral pouc~. For example, a ~eb material can be dra~n over a ~orm;ng~ guide and aroulld a meta:l tube~ Th~ body`' he~t seal is made ~nd the :Eilm is advanced by ~;Ith~r th~ end heat seali~ j.aws or b~ lt:ing act.i.on. Tlla cross end sea:ls are made alternately in a 90 angle to t}-e prececling cross heat seal. ~gai~
the ~ i.ng gap 12~ reJnains as illustrated in the pouch. Anothar si~ple envelope is :il:lu~trated in Figure 13 as a gusset pouch. Thi.
is made very similar to the envelo~e o ~igure 9 e~cept a old or gusset 13Z is made in the pouch be~ore seal 13~ and fillin~ gap 136 are :Eormed.
/<~ ,.
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, 1 , - 1065828 ' ! .~
:LIi Idd.il:.iorl to tlle simp~ sl~ es9 mote cornple~c s~laped bal:loon~ can ~e r,lacle :i.n tlle sco~)e o.~ ~lle sul)j Cct invention such as i~ str.lted i.n l:igure 1~. A 1)ott:le sllape(l ~alloon rl2(le in . .
, accordclrlce ~lith the sul)ject invellt:i.oll :is sho~v~ igur~
i Ihe balloon l~n is m~de ~ :ive se~ar~t~ p..Lnels of co~posite I. matelial. ~s s]lol~n, the necl~ oE bott:le 1~0 is made Erom t~o -~
.;
' pallelS 1~2 ~]liCh are sealed togetller along peripheral portions . ..
thereo at areas 1~. The ~ase of panels 1~2 are sealed to a .
circular panel 1~6 at seal areas 14~. The circular panel 146 ¦ .
cncloses tlle top oi cylindrical shaped panel 150 at seal areas 152~ Cylindrical shaped panel 150 is made :Erom a single piece`~
oE composite en~elope materia:l sealed l~i-th an overlap seal at seal area 154. ~he base o:~ bo-ttle 1~0 comprises another I circ~llar panel l~rG ~.ith an at-tachnlellt tal~ Eor attaclling ¦ a tetll~r line thvreto. Colnplex shclpes such as bottle 1~0 c~n ¦ be usetl not on:Ly as toys but also in advcrtising and lYill be ! mailltclined buoyant ~OT an inde:-inite period o:E time. lhus, :
¦ various sizes ancl shapes of air buoyantl~alloonscan be made -:
I in the scope o:E the subject i.nvention ~ith tlle me~ta:l-nunel~sto-¦meric polymer cornposlte enve:lol)e m~lker:la:l~ Ik is only necessary tlla~. the none~astomer:;c polymer l~ ve~ a conkilluo~ls coat:ing ¦me~ta:L or a layeI o.E m~ta.l :laminat.ed t.herol:o o.r tllerew:ltll:in~ .:tholl~h SllCIl compos:ite ~laterials axe geller.llly used in the lcay-':Elat condition,. t]ley can typically be :Eormed into c~l:rved or dished 'sections hav:ing él ma~.lmum depth o.E about 50% o:E the panel s.ize usinC~ vac-ltlm or mecllanical dies l~ithout hctrm to the metal l~Lyer.
Tlle envelor)e ClTI ]lave an in ternal voll~nle up to al)o~lt 20 cu. ft, ~.
and l1aVe ~I ratio oE :its vo]alli)e taken to the t~o-thirsls pol~er to I
I .
. l .
l ':
651~2~3 its sur~ace ar~c.- in tllt: l~all~c rrom al)ollt 0.21 to about 0.0l ~ and an avcrage cn~elo~ eip,ht ill thc r.~ e o~ florn ~bout ! 2.fi x 10 ~ ~m/cm2 to al)out 1.7 x 10 2 ~In/cm . ~ll suc!l balloons a~e a buoyclnt li~ scvcral ti~e5 greclter than conv~ntional a;r buoyallt ~alloons Or coml)~ra'L~le`size, 'Ille uscful l)uoy~nt ~ ctime can be variecl l~itll the c}loiee o~ ellvelope mater;als ¦ ~}liCll are used in the scope of the subject invention and can be 1~ easily de-termined from simple calculat:io~ urthe-rmore, in ¦l relation to the envelope l~eight, the minimum ~Jei~ht o:E the ', nonelastorneric polymer ~]-ich is used in all balloons is , Z.4 x 10 4 gm/cm2 ~.9 x 10 4 lbs./t.2). Generally7 more -¦ polymer can ~e utilized in the envelopes ~Yhich are made ~:ith ; the vapor deposited metals. For cxample, the maximum ~eight of polymer l~hich can be used in envelopes ~hi ch carry at least a layer oE ~apor dcpositecl metal is about 1.7 x 10 2 gm/cm2 (3.5 x 10 2 lhs./~t.2). Furtllermore~ the maximum ~e;ght o polymer in rolled metal laminate ba:lloon envelopes made in tlle scope o the subject invention is about 1.65 x 10 2 gm/cm2 i ~3.4 x 10 2 lbs./:Et. ). In ~orking ~ith ~nvelopes ca~rying tl~e ¦ vc~por deposited metal in general, the min:imllm total cnvelape ! weight is 2.G x 10 ~ gm/cm2 (5.3 x 10 ~ lbs./.Et.2). Lil;e~ise~
hc,~n l~orl;ir,~ .itll tlle metal :lam.irlltes }laV3.llg a thi,n sh~e~ o~
¦ meta:L larninated to the nonelastomeric polymer~ tlle rninimum ¦ envelope ~eLght is about 2.3 x 10 3 gm/cm2 ~.7 x 10 3 lbs./ft.~.
¦~ In gerleral, the speci~ic envc:lope matc,~ri~l can be tailorcd :Eor I' any specific sh.lp~ to obtain tlle desired buoyant lifetime by ¦l simp1e calcu:lation 11' .
!
.
, I .
.
.
I ~", ~.<: i, j 1~65~2~ I:
j' ~ 01; .In~' s(!t o.~. sirlil~lr t~ ].OOllS, tllC .~ollo~i ~' geOr.le tl`:i.C re~ iOl~sll:ip~:i e~ t.
~t (1) S _ Bl)2 .
. . ':' I ~2) VO = CV3 i, (3) S = H~;o2/3 , I, . ;~
~ herein D = scaLe sl~e for any ~lalloon o~ given I' geometric configruration , !j S = sur.Eace area of the envelope ¦
~'0 = initial volume o the ~ully in~lated I envelope .:
¦ B, C and ~ are constants independ~nt of size.~ :
, for any given geometric co:n:Eigurc-Ltioll. ~
~ . ~
Because Tncllly balloons are difEicult to de~:ine ' geo-netrically, iL i9 seneralLy convenl~nt to choose the total :.
¦ thickn~ss, r of the ~o.Lymer layers o:~ the envelope as the scaLe sizc (D) .; .
Thus let: r = D
Then ~rom equations (1), (2) and (3) .
.~,., ~ Brr2 : . I~5) Vc~ r3 1 2/3 Br . ...
l~ er~ Br and Cr ~rc ide~ntical respectively to B and C ~or the particuLar case ~here r = D.
2 ~ '3 l l ~ .
~ ;58~
using tlICsC ` CCjU~:iO115, var.ious v-,llues oE ~ Call I)C
calc~llated for any given shape. I~or c~mE)le~ ~ v~lues Eor typ:ica ~h;L~e~s are set :Eorth ir-~ l'a~le 1 ~clo~:
" .
' Tablc proY~im~tc ~ Values 1~ 2~: i ]I~,p,e 'llleta ;i~ s j Cuhe 6.0 ~ 0.17 Sphere ~ ~.84 ~ 0.21 j Lay-~lat squ~re ~,5.5 ~ 0.18 Human shape ~ lO.0 ~ 0.10 Rect~ngular parallelcpiped ~30x30xl) ~20.6 ~ O.OS
Tetrahedron ~ 7.2 ~ 0.l4 Cylinder (len~th = 10, diam. = 1) ~ 8.35 ~ 0.12 ~ .In deternlinin~ the buoyant li:Eetime ~TL) of balloons ¦ made ~ith the cornposite envelopes of the su~ject invention, the rate of diffusion ~-dd-lV;) o:f the liEt gas from inside tl~e nonexten-sible envelope is given by the equation:
~7) clV _ FP~ * 'i' ~here: P -- permeability const~nt characteristic oE
th~ polymer materia'l or comb~ at:lon oE
po:1.ym~* matcrials and th~ lit g-lS ChOSCII
T - elapsed time sincc in:Elation T = total thic~iness o~ the po'L~ner layer or layers o:E the envelope m~terial*
V = volume o liEt gas at time T~V=Vo at T=O) , F = effect.ive fraction o-E the envelope surface not contiguously bonde-l to a met~l layer ~The rclative'ly lninor areas o overlapp:ing or buttcd seals are neglectcd in t}lese c(luations. ::
. .
.
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I' " 13~
';' i;,. : , 1' ~ 658213 c ~ C i ~r~l t ( cl~J~ r(l I o ~c c 1,1) o c a ~ o oll cllvc ~ ) e i ~ i V~
, by tht~ e(lua~ion: i ( ~ P r r .S ~ p 1I r 11 ~; ~' . . -~' .~,.
!~ ~ herc p~ ~ver~,e c1ensity'of tlle env'elope polymer , ' . ' matcri.~ls ~ '.
I p~ = dcnsity o.~ metal I T = total avera~e t}1ic~ness o tl1e metal ~ layer or l~yers !l *The rclati1~~ely ~inor areas of overl~pp;ng or butted seals : I are neglect~d in these e~uations, : I The gross li~ing ~orce, U, of the gas in the ~alloon is given by the equation:
(9) U = V (p air - p ~7as) = V (~p) ~, . 1~here: p ~ir = density of ~1ir p gas = dt-~nsity o~ t ~,~s in the ~nve:lope ~p - p air - p ~-s . .
The n~t ll~ting -forcc (L) is o~tained by co~nbining ¦ e~1u~tio-1s (~) ~nd (9) to give:
tl) I. = U - 1~ = V(~p) - pErS - p~r~S
lt~t: Ll - r, the~rl -the :Eo:llo~.i.n~ e~ ation c~n ~t~ .
c1e:r~vt~1 I)y coml~ g e~lu~ltions (5), ¦ tfi) ancl (:lO): , L ~ V(~P) -P~,~ c-173 P~ ~
, r ;:
ferentiat,ion o:E (ll) ~ith rcspect tt) time yields:
¦ ~
'~ ' 11 . . .' i ' 3 - 2 ~
,_ ~ ..
11D6S~3Z8 ~12) (ll~ p) cil;
Si.nce D = r, coml)illin~ e~luations (5), ((), (7) and (12) yields:
(1~) (ll. = - (l~p) ~ crl/3vOl/3~l~r . .
en T - O, L = Lo and l~hen '1 = TL (buoyant li~etime), L = O.
Th~ls integration o C(~UatiOIl (13) and algebraic rearran~ement "I ~ives: . .
) TL pp~ ~ ~T~Ap~
! l~Jhen L = Lo~ V = VO. Thus substitu-tion o:f equation ~11) into e~uation (14) gives: .
¦ , V 2/3 [(~p) ~ -:~T~ ~ 1/3 ~S) ~L = ~~~ - -L7~~~ ~ ~ -In tile particular pre:Eerred case o t}-inly v~por deposited metal composi.te envelopes the value oE r~ may ~e assumed to be a vanishin~Ly smal:l cons-tant ~ith -the Tes~llt that e~uation ~L~ can be ~ritten in the .Eorm o-E the simpler appro.x:Lmate ¦
equation ~16).
2/3 ~(~p) ~ ~`
(16) TL ~ FP~C' r~t~p) Furthermore, if r~ is constant then I~ is also constant; thus equation ~16) S}lowS that otherl~ise geometrically sim:ilar balloons h~vin~ idellt:ical vnpor deposited metaLlic layers ~nd mad~ from ..
¦identical ma-teria:Ls h,lve, under identic~l conditions~ liEetimes ~hich are proportional to the 2/3 po~er o:E the initial ~olume.
Under these restrict.ions, three cons-tants, ~1~ h2 ~nd K3, can be dc.E:ined hy the ollol~:in~ e~ .ltions :' :' !
! ~
~, I . . `':
! l ~L~6~8Z8 3 Pr (L\~)-c-:tr~
] 1 c r c ~ r Cr' / ~ p) I , il ~nd Erom com~ in~T (17) all~
' ~ .: ' .
) Il ~ K2S I}lerc ~2 = ~1 _ ,~ and from combining (~) alld ~
~19) Tl ~ ~3r2 ~here ~3 = K2Br ISince all scale di~ensions of similar balloons are proportiona ¦(19) can also be l~ritten as:
(20) r~ v2 ~rhere D is any de~inab:Le sca:le si~e ~e.g., diameter) and is a constaTIt ~or any ~:iven bal:loon geometry and composi~îon llnder standard conditi.ons.
Equation (15) may be used to calculatc the buoyant li~etilne o.E any balloon havillg a meta:l;lic layer in the eIIvelope~
Any o:E t-~tluatiorls ~16) t]lrou~,]l (20? m.~y be similarly app:i:ied to `
the spec.i:Fic c~se ~hert? t.he metal layer .Is a ver~ th~n vapor de~pos.ited m.~terlal.
I:urt]ler~ore, l~a~ed on e~iuation (6), the minimum volumc ~nd minimum sur:~ace area :Eor any ~art.icular sha~)e oE . :
~al:loorl crln recad:ily ~)e (ler:ived as ~ :Function of TL as is shown ~n elluntions (21) nnd (22) ~elo~
c2 5 ., 11 1 .
.11 . ' 1, ..
3~; 58 :, t~ o~mi~ ) tl ~ l~r ) ] , I
. - ' I .
' (22) S(ln~ p ¦ ~Y~Iere E = l~ei~ per unit ~rea o:E envelope rate oE buoyancy loss per unit area of .
, envelope I
Balloons o~ v~rious shapes r~ade in the scope oE the li subject invention c~n h~ve extre~ely long buoyallt liEetimes, i.e., a y~ar or more. A comparison of the minimum volumes Eor.- :, ¦I various shaped balloons having a one year buoyant llfetim~ (~L) ¦~hich ccln be made in the s~ ject invention llith 0.Z5 mil polyes~cr as the nonelastomeric polymer :in the cornposit~ combined ~:ith ~ oth sheot aluminul~ an(l vapor d~posite(l aluminulll in the composite~
jrespect:iv~ly~ is sho~n :in T.Lble 2 b~lo~:
T~ble 2 . -_ :
Comparison o:E Rolled Aluminum (0.17 mil) and V~por D~posited . Alurn;num on the Minlmum Volume ~Ft3) o:E 13alloons IY:it]l One- .~ :
: ~ar Blloy~nt LiEetlm~s,~l) 6 :l0 20.6 : ..
~nvelopc~ , ~lateri~l -. I ~ , :':
. '0.-17 mil ro]..led AL l 0.2S m.ll VITlin ~ 0.05.l 0.09~ 0.45 3.96 coclt~d poly~.st~r - .
I ~
j4 x 10 3mil v~por deposi ted Al . .
-~ 0,25 mil co~lted V = 0.0070 Q.0134 0.062 0.542 . 1 polyester rnln :-:
c~ ' I '' 2 'J ~
, , )65~ 8 'I<~ 3 .is l~rcc,~ tc(l t~ O~i Co~ ri~ c).E S~V~I<
matcL :ials s-l:iZ:al~le :~or usc in tlle const:r~lc~ of }le~ .lm .~il1ed I ~,a~ loolls, ~ n tll~ s~o~ O r t]~ clltioll, in t~l~ si~,c ~ange . .
of 0. 2r. to 2 cu. ft ., C.IClI h~lV;.n~r a t~ .iclll sllal)e factor o~ i I
. ~3 = 10. ~ :~.
'I]le opti~u~ ellvelope l~eig]lt is liste(l as tllat corrc-I s~ond;.ng to U/l~ = 2 because tllis generally corresponds to the ,' ~heoretic~l optim~ value for all poly~er balloons~ The entries for U/~ = 1 (neutr21 buoyancy) are included because substantially ! `~
i neutrally buoyar- including slightly ne~atively buoyank ~alloons ¦ are suitable ~or toys or advertising devices ~hich depend on ;
rising air currents, e.g., tllose over a heat source, for ¦ buoyallcy an~l SUC]l balloons can be made in the scope oE the suhje t invention.
. . , . ' 1.' , , , .
11 ' .
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Il l ,~ 2')~1 1 ! 1 ~6~8z8 --,;
; 'l'lll~ 3 ~omp.lrisoll of ~la-tcria1s l;or 'I}lc (:onlitruction of llelium Ba1100lls (~ = 10) in the Siz.c l~,lng~ 0.25 - 2.0 ~t.3 ~'OLU
'; 0.25_ 0.50 1.0 2 0 1 ? --- ~ I
!SurE~lce ~r~a (~`t ) 3.97 6.30 10.0 15,9 ¦ _ _ _ (c~n ) _ _3?6~ n ? S50 9,290_ _ 14,700 Optimum Envelope lYt(gm) ~U/l'l =2) 3.5~ 7.()~ 1~.2 ~.3 " ~
~ aximum ~nve10pe ~it ~gm) () ,(U/~ = 1) 7.0~ 14.2 28.3 56.6 _ tOptimum Envelope ~It per Unit ~rea (~m/c12) 9 59~10 4 _1.2 xlO 3 1.52x10 3 1.92x10 3_ ~laximum ~nve10pe ~t ¦per Unit ~rea ~gm/cm2) 1.92x10 3 2.~2~10 3 3.05x:lO 3 3.83x10 3 _~ .~
¦l~Jeigh-t Range per Unit l~rea oE Typical 1/~ mi1 5~97-8.89~10 Po:lym~r 1 rn:il 2.39-3.56x10 3 - -- ---- ----.--Fi1ms ~gm/cTn2) 1/Z mil 1.19-1.7S~:lO 3 _ .
llreigh~ o~ Rol1ed ¦~luminum per ~.17mi1 l. 17x10 ¦Uni-t ~rea (gm/cm ) 0.35mil 2.~n~10 3 ~ ~~
.. , .. ~ _ ..
¦Typica1 ~vg. Weight ¦o V~por Deposited 2.l~0 5 - - - - - -----------~ minllm p~r Unit I~ r ~ crl (l!~m/ c~
In general, dcsp;te the prcsence of numerous origina1 p~nholos in the~ m~tal layc:rs and a Ear greater number oE holes or issures arising from assemb1y alld h~nd1ing, it has been fo-lnd that continuous1y bond~d 1am:Lnates mad~ of 0.3S mi1 ro11ed a1uminum .11 ~ ' .
111 , ', Il .
ll :~ ' . f 6s8~8 . foil atld llo:Lyo.].cLill Li:Lm (I~ LL~ 1..25 to 3.25 mils) .sllo~
~lloy.nc~ lo~s ra~e (I>) o.E Lcss tlla~l ().0~ ~raln; I-er year per ; I s(l. ~t. or 2.2 ~ lO 5 ~rarns per yeLr pcr cm2. Some typi.cal bllloons oC tl~e su~ject in~cll-ioll r.lade ~:ith compo(;itc pancl ~ matcr.i<~ls ~ tllrou(l~ E: set ~orth in rablc ~ belo-~ I~ere made ~nd i coml)arcd ~to ~ ~all.oon ma(le ~ h c:oml)oji.tc lamillate matcrial i]~ Tablc 5 ~elo;i l~llich is not made in the scope of the subject ~iinven tiOIl: -1, I Table ~
I Descri~.ion Of Film Samples ~:or Heiium Permeat.ion !o. ' ._Descri,~_n_ Thic!;ness (mil) - 3/~ mil polypropylene / 1/2 mil polyethylene / .0~035 aluTninum / 3.6 2 mils polyetllylene IB - ~letallized (i~luminu~) poLyester ¦ 1/2 mil / 1-1/2 Tnils po:LyoleEill 2.0 IC - Slran ca~tel metalli cd (Alumin~lm) po:lyeste~r 1/2 mil / 1-1/2 mi:ls 2.0 polyo:Le~in D - ~letallized (.~luminllm.) polyester 1/2 mil / 2 mils polyethylene ~Z.S
E - ~etall:ize~ (Aluminum) polyeste:r 1/2 mil (2 s:ides) / 1 mil polyetlly:lelle .l.5 P - Sa.ran coated Poly~ste:r l/Z m:il /
1 m:il saran :1.5 I .I Balloons made ~i.th the above colposite panel mateTials ¦we~e :E.illed with ]lel:lum and monitored :Eor helium perme.ltiorl.
. Tlle h~ TI l~ermeations m~ls(lred in ~rain~ o.E bloy.lncy lost per 1000 s~l. i.n. of :Eilm are set :Eorth in Table 5 belo-~:
!1 I' . .' 1,1 ' I''' ~ '.
Il . ' .
658Z~ !
~ ., ~ J.~ S
! j :
~e.l~ m l'cr~e~lbili~ 'I`est Rcsults No. ~le].iu~ erliieation *
A 0.2 3.~
. . C 7.0 , D 6.~ .
1l E 1.1 .
¦1, F 9Q.0 *Helium Permeation -- buoyancy loss in grams per 1~00 square I inches o:E envelope matcrial per year. ~:
I . , ' ~ ' As can be readily seen, the ~lloons made in accorcl~ncc ~ith the subject invention are substan-.;ally imperme~b:Le and there:Eore romain ~uoyant over an e~xtellded period o~ time as comp~red l~.ith t:he balloons made ~i.th the composite materi.Ll ~.
hile thi~ invention has been described in relation to its prefcrred embodimentl it is to be unders-tood that various modiflcat:Lons theTeo:E will no-~ be apparen-t to one s~illed in the .:
art upon reading the speciEication and it is intended to cover such mod:l:E.ications as :Eal l l~ithin the scope of the appended claims . . ., !
I claim. ~ ~ ¦
', ', . ~' ', . ! .
3~
; l .. .
1 .. : :
Claims (22)
1. An air buoyant balloon comprising a substantially gas impermeable envelope filled with a lighter than air gas at about atmospheric pressure, said envelope being made from attached panels of a composite material comprising at least one nonelastomeric polymer which has a continuous coating of a metal on at least one side thereof, said envelope having an internal volume of up to about 20 cu. ft. and having a ratio of its volume taken to the two-thirds power to its surface area of from about 0.21 to about 0.01, and an average envelope weight in the range of from about 2.6 x 10-4 gm/cm2 to about 1.7 x 10-2 gm/cm2.
2. The air buoyant balloon of Claim 1 wherein said panels of composite material are attached at juxtapositioned peripheral portions thereof.
3. The air buoyant balloon of Claim 1 wherein said panels of composite material are heat sealed together at the peripheral portions of said panels.
4. The air buoyant balloon of Claim 1 wherein said panels of composite material are attached at the peripheral portions of said panels with adhesive.
5. The air buoyant balloon of Claim 1 wherein said panels of composite material comprise said nonelastomeric polymer carrying a laminate of a thin metal sheet thereon.
6. The air buoyant balloon of Claim 5 wherein said thin metal sheet is aluminum.
7. The air buoyant balloon of Claim 5 wherein said panels of composite material comprise a laminate of two layers of nonelastomeric polymer having said metal sheet sandwiched therebetween and continuously bonded to the surface thereof.
8. The air buoyant balloon of Claim 7 wherein at least one of said layers of said nonelastomeric polymer is a polyolefin.
9. The air buoyant balloon of Claim 7 wherein said nonelastomeric polymer layers are selected from polyolefins, polyvinyl chloride, polyesters, polyvinylidene chloride, poly-vinyl alcohol, regenerated cellulose, polyurethane, ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer, ionomers, polyamides and nitrile polymers.
10. The air buoyant balloon of Claim 1 wherein said panels of composite material comprise a nonelastomeric polymer carrying a continuous coating of a vapor deposited metal thereon.
11. The air buoyant balloon of Claim 10 wherein said layer of vapor deposited metal has a thickness in the range of from about 3 x 10-7 inches to about 2 x 10-3 inches.
12. The air buoyant balloon of Claim 10 wherein said layer of vapor deposited metal renders said composite material essentially opaque to the transmission of light therethrough.
13. The air buoyant balloon of Claim 10 wherein said vapor deposited metal is aluminum.
14. The air buoyant balloon of Claim 10 wherein said panels of composite material comprise a first nonelastomeric polymer having said continuous coating of vapor deposited metal thereon and a second layer of a nonelastomeric polymer continu-ously bonded to said vapor deposited metal thereby leaving said vapor deposited metal sandwiched between said first and second layers of nonelastomeric polymer.
The air buoyant balloon of Claim 10 wherein said panels of composite material comprise said nonelastomeric polymer having a continuous coating of a vapor deposited metal on both sides thereof.
16. The air buoyant balloon of Claim 15 wherein said metal is aluminum.
17. The air buoyant balloon of Claim 1 further comprising a resilient tether line operatively attached thereto.
18. The air buoyant balloon of Claim 17 wherein said resilient tether comprises both elastomeric and nonelastomeric sections.
19. The air buoyant balloon of Claim 1 further com-prising a nozzle means communicating with the interior thereof.
20. The buoyant balloon of Claim 19 wherein said nozzle means is scalably closed with a spring clamp means.
21. The air buoyant balloon of Claim 18 wherein said nozzle means is closed by sealing adjacent panel sections of said nozzle.
22. The air buoyant balloon of Claim 1 further comprising an elastic member engaged with portions on sad envelope such that it becomes stretched in tension when said envelope is inflated with said lighter than air gas.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA293,350A CA1065828A (en) | 1977-12-19 | 1977-12-19 | Permanently buoyant balloon |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA293,350A CA1065828A (en) | 1977-12-19 | 1977-12-19 | Permanently buoyant balloon |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA1065828A true CA1065828A (en) | 1979-11-06 |
Family
ID=4110318
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA293,350A Expired CA1065828A (en) | 1977-12-19 | 1977-12-19 | Permanently buoyant balloon |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA1065828A (en) |
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US9497392B2 (en) | 2014-03-18 | 2016-11-15 | Dennis Jason Stelmack | Method of transporting and recording imagery of a plurality of similar objects to near space |
-
1977
- 1977-12-19 CA CA293,350A patent/CA1065828A/en not_active Expired
Cited By (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US9497392B2 (en) | 2014-03-18 | 2016-11-15 | Dennis Jason Stelmack | Method of transporting and recording imagery of a plurality of similar objects to near space |
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